LAKE CITY, Fla. – Flooding from Tropical Storm Debby damaged many roadways, homes, and businesses in Live Oak.
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Water filled US 129, the main roadway that residents use. Power lines are down as well as a tree.
There’s even a car submerged in water and it goes all the way to an open field and flows to where dozens of homes are.
Water even got in a business and the owner had to open the doors to let the water flow out.
Reginald Carpenter is one of the many residents who lost their homes.
“There was so much rain, it overtook everything,” Carpenter said. “It overtook the pump and everything it just inundated the house. The National Guard had to come out there and get us out of there.”
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He described when the officer arrived to rescue him.
“The water was getting so high outside the doors, we saw the water getting higher and higher and as soon as I opened the door for the officer, the water just rushed in,” Carpenter said.
Now he is living at one of the properties he manages.
He said that he has to contact FEMA and his insurance company to get started on repairs.
Nayna Chaudhri is the owner of Stop and Shop and she talked about how the storm impacted her store.
“Two feet of water outside and about nearly three to four inches but I don’t get much damage inside,” Chaudri said. “I don’t have insurance so I am afraid of my outside damage on how I will pay for everything.”
Chaudhri said this is not the first storm that has affected her business.
“On the 15th of May, there was a tornado that came over here,” Chaudhri said. “I lost my whole register. I lost about $60-70,000 and again I lost today.”
Carpenter is a property owner and he said one of his complexes is still surrounded by water.
“All the residents are displaced, having to put them in here instead of new tenants, through the city and all that stuff,” Carpenter said.
He said water was on the ground floor.