CENTRAL FLORIDA — Heavy rainfall Sunday and overnight continued to flood roads Monday, forced the shutdown of streets in Lake, Brevard and Orange counties, resulted in the evacuation of about 20 homes in Mount Dora and collapsed roads in Lake and Brevard counties.
Lake County has declared a local state of emergency, and the Lake County Emergency Operations Center is now at Level 2 — Partial Activation to assist residents.
What You Need To Know
Some roads in Brevard, Lake and Orange counties are closed because of flooding rains Sunday and overnight
Waterman Village in Mount Dora has two 40-foot ravines, and 20 homes had to be evacuated while the banks are stabilized, the mayor said
In some neighborhoods, cars in driveways are submerged in water
Vehicles are also stuck along the roadways in Lake County
Some of the Central Florida areas that reported the most rain were as follows:
(Spectrum News)
Lake County
In Lake County, Waterman Village in Mount Dora has two drop-offs of 40-foot ravines, and 20 homes had to be evacuated while the banks can be stabilized, Mayor James Homich said. Waterman Village has housed those residents elsewhere for now, he said. Engineers will have to evaluate the land before officials know how long it will take to stabilize the banks, he said.
All downtown businesses have been affected because Donnelly Street was destroyed and will be closed indefinitely, according to Lake County Director of Emergency Management Megan Milanese. At its worst, Donnelly was under 6 to 8 feet of water at peak flooding, Milanese said.
Homich said it could take a year to address all road and infrastructure issues.
But Police Chief Michael Gibson said downtown remains open for business because there are other roads to get into the area, and officials are working on a new road into downtown. Travel could take a little more time because many of the roads are smaller, he said.
Several other roads had to be blocked because of flooded or washed out roads, and officials have received reports of water intrusion in some homes.
Authorities had to conduct some water rescues, Fire Chief Joseph Hightower said.
No casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.
The following roadways remain closed because of Sunday’s flooding:
Donnelly Street from Limit Avenue to Fiddler Drive
Old Eustis Road from Donnelly Street to Dogwood Circle
Wolfbranch Road from Niles Road to Britt Road
State Road 46 is down to one lane from Round Lake Road to U.S. Highway 441
Drivers are asked to follow detour directions and signage while the roadways remain closed.
Part of the road near Wolf Branch Road and Timberlake Drive in Mount Dora has been washed away by heavy downpours overnight. (Courtesy of Lake County Government)
The area of Donnelly Street and Wolf Branch Road in Mount Dora is washed out, with chunks of the road missing and lots of erosion.
The washout on Wolf Branch Road was about 197 feet wide, about half the width of the roadway, authorities said.
Crews are evaluating utilities in the area, but there is no evidence of disruption, they said.
Vehicles are also stuck along the roadways.
The flooding may also have caused a water main break.
Homich said the topography in the Mount Dora area is uncommon in Florida and helped contribute to the amount of flood damage from the heavy rain.
Just down the hill from Donnelly Street in Mount Dora, residents living on Suzanne Drive are dealing with the aftermath that the heavy rainfall left behind.
“It came through the house,” Mount Dora resident Tom Hewitt said. “There were 2 inches of mud and water, and it went through the house and right into the lake.”
Hewitt spent his morning cleaning up the inside of his home as much as he can. All the water and mud that flowed inside caused significant damage, he said.
“I’m totally flummoxed by it all,” Hewitt said. “I just don’t understand how such a thing could happen.”
He isn’t alone. His next door neighbor, Rick Cooper, takes great pride in his front yard but is stunned about how it looked Monday.
His backyard leads into Lake John. While said the water levels typically fluctuate, it never has looked like it does now, even in Hurricane Milton, Cooper said.
“This is way higher than normal and way higher than it was yesterday morning,” Cooper said.
Cooper and his neighbors said they believe that construction at the top of the hill is one of the contributing factors as to why so much sediment flowed into the creek and down into the lake.
As members of that community work to clean up their properties, they said they are concerned that it could get worse if more rain falls.
Lake County opened five sandbag sites at 11 a.m. to try to help residents protect their homes from water intrusion. The sites were scheduled to remain open until 7 p.m. unless the weather deteriorates.
The sites will be staffed, but residents should bring their own shovels and plan to fill their own bags. Each household is limited to 10 bags.
East Lake Sports Complex, 24809 Wallick Road in Sorrento
North Lake Regional Park, 40730 Roger Giles Road in Umatilla
Pear Gateway Park, 26791 U.S. Highway 27 in Leesburg
Hickory Point Recreation Complex, 27315 State Road 19 in Tavares
Fire Station 10, 23023 FL-40 in Astor
Elsewhere, two sinkholes and flooding were reported in the area of East Crooked Lake Road near Country Club Drive in Eustis, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
City Manager Tom Carrino said some roads also were washed out in the city, but they were all localized. The most severe flooding was in residential areas. It is possible for residents to get out of their homes and to get around the city, he said. Businesses remain open, he said.
The city has some crews who can repair roads, and they have started to work on those that they can, Carrino said.
Utilities and other major infrastructures have continued to function, Carrino said. Crews are going door to door to inform any residents who are under boil water notices, but those are very localized, he said.
Lake County officials said residents are encouraged to report home or property damage related to Sunday’s and Monday’s rain by calling the Citizen’s Information Line at 352-253-9999 after 1 p.m. Monday. The calls will help Lake County and local municipalities assess community impacts and coordinate resources.
In area schools, the Lake County school district said campuses remain open but students who cannot get to classes because of flooding will receive excused absences.
Brevard County
In Titusville, officials declared a state of emergency Monday as the city works to resolve flooding issues.
The southbound ramp for State Road 406 (exit 220) was closed Monday because of standing water. Florida Highway Patrol is urging drivers to take the exit before or after to reach their destination.
On Monday morning, residents woke up to flooding, with cars in driveways submerged by water and a fire rescue truck caught in a road collapse.
In Titusville, floodwaters rose high enough in some areas to submerge cars in front of homes. (Spectrum News/Jon Shaban)
Parkland Street is like a lake with water too deep for cars to drive through it. People are taking kayaks to get around.
Dozens of homes have yards that are completely flooded and vehicles with engines that flooded out.
Some families, like Dawn and Chris Blinson, have 6 inches of water inside their homes, with possessions now waterlogged.
“This time we’ve got 3 to 6 inches, depending on where you are in the house, actually in the house,” Chris Blinson said. “Your entire yard is completely flooded. The entire acre-and-one-half we have is completely underwater.”
Inside the house, many of their memories and possessions are waterlogged.
“Right now, we’re just trying to kind of mitigate and get through this with everybody else and stay strong with our neighbors,” Dawn Blinson said.
Others are living on the second floor because they still have water in their houses.
Residents said a drainage culvert near their homes is overgrown with vegetation, slowing the flow of water to drain off during heavy storms. Part of the culvert sits along the city-county line. Several neighbors said they have not had success getting either the city or county government to clean out the culvert.
Brevard County Commissioner Katie Delaney said she will raise residents’ concerns about the culvert at Tuesday’s county commission meeting.
Floodwaters have entered the house of Dawn and Chris Blinson on Parkland Street in Titusville. (Spectrum News/Jon Shaban)
Some people said their cars are flooded out and will have to be totaled.
At North Singleton and Parkland, businesses are cleaning up after being flooded with 6 inches of water.
Flooding was particularly bad at the Shady Oaks/Nova Terrace intersection, where cars were partially submerged.
Some residents in the area said they and their pets had to evacuate to a neighbor’s home because water was up to their chest.
On North Merritt Island, Henry Dempsey said the lake has flooded and Pintail Lane is completely flooded.
(Photo Courtesy of Henry Dempsey)
The Titusville Fire Department has advised people to stay indoors and off the roads since they received calls about people being stuck in their cars.
In addition, the Titusville Police Department is warning drivers not to drive through flooded waters and intersections, as the water could be deeper than it appears.
Using alternative routes and driving slowly has been advised.
Titusville City Council member Sarah Stoeckel has been updating residents on ongoing efforts on her Facebook page.
Many parts of Brevard County have flooded roads on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, after severe overnight storms. (Spectrum News 13/Sasha Teman)
In Cocoa, Spring Street and North Cocoa Boulevard were closed because of a washout.
Also, the outside lane on U.S. 1 northbound near Faye Boulevard and Spring Street is closed because of flooding, the Florida Department of Transportation said in a statement. FDOT is working on emergency repairs and will restore safe travel conditions as quickly as possible.
Schools in Brevard County remain open, but the district said absences resulting from the flooding will be considered excused.
The Red Cross announced that Disaster Action Team volunteers are working to assess the damage in Brevard and Lake counties and provide emergency assistance that can be used for necessities such as shelter, food and clothing.
Orange County
In Ocoee, Crown Point Road has been closed north of Fullers Cross Road in both directions because of a washout.
South of the closure, traffic is being detoured onto East Fullers Criss Road. North of the closure, traffic is being diverted to Ocoee Apopka Road.
Public works crews are working to stabilize and repair the roadway.
Authorities are urging drivers to use alternate routes and drive carefully in the area.
Seminole County
The streets are flooded in the St. Johns River Estates neighborhood.
Out of an abundance of caution, Seminole County Emergency Management opened a sandbag site at Old Geneva Volunteer Fire Station, 215 2nd St. in Geneva. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. but is unstaffed. Bring your own shovel.