MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – The water level of the south fork of the Black Creek is expected to rise above flood stage Monday morning due to Sunday's tropical downpours, and those living along the north fork of the river are preparing as more rainfall is in the forecast this week.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Clay County from 6 a.m. Monday morning through 2:15 a.m. Tuesday. Flagler, St Johns County, Flagler and Putnam counties are under a flood watch until 8 p.m.
Clay County is used to seeing flooding -- especially along Black Creek.
Residents clean gutters, fill sandbags and moving to higher ground.
Clay County has four locations where people can get sand bags for free:
- Middleburg Fire Station #14, 4003 Everett Ave.
- Fleming Island Fire Station #22, 5995 Pine Ave.
- Green Cove Public Works, 900 Gum St.
- Town of Orange Park Fire Station, 240 Stowe Ave.
Black Creek residents are used to the drill.
"It has some fluctuation with tidal action anyway, sometimes of the day it is higher sometimes it's lower, It is flowing pretty fast right now, and it is up a little bit but not too high," David Hintenlang said.
Hintenlang isn't too worried. He says his house is up to Federal Emergency Management Agency standards and is stocked with food and water. But he does have a back up plan.
"We have a couple of boats, a canoe actually that its main purpose is in case the road were to flood. You could at least paddle out and get supplies if you needed," Hintenlang said.
Some people aren't taking any chances. Ronnie Yates came out with his friend and packed 40 bags full of sand to put around the front of his home which tends to flood.
"We keep plenty of flashlights, water canned foods, and generator is already set up. forty gallon of gas ready, so I'm ready for it. I'm always ready," Yates said.
Wayne Fortnei who is a tree trimmer, is also stocking up on sand bags and says people should get their trees looked at now. So if need be, they can be taken down before mother nature takes them down. He says rain can damage the root system.
"Saturate your ground and cause the top of your trees to be like a big umbrella. Even the slightest wind will bring a tree down if the ground is saturated, and it's already saturated here," Fortnei said.
He says never pay for work up front and always call around to get several estimates.