JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Several homes were flooded after nearly a foot of rain fell in Jacksonville Beach on Friday night. One woman is blaming the city of Jacksonville Beach for damage to her home.
"It's the entire house," Wendy Barkoskie said.
Recommended Videos
Barkoskie has been trying to dry out her home since the beginning of the weekend. On Monday, a cleaning crew came out to remove damaged carpets, soggy drywall and baseboards.
Barkoskie lives right on the edge of Lake Mildred in Jacksonville Beach. When it rains like it did Friday night, she said, the lake floods into her yard and her home.
"I want them to maintain their lake," Barkoskie said. "That's owned by the city. It's supposed to be maintained by the city. ... Their water should not come on my property."
Images:
Workers brought a water pump out to the area to help alleviate some of the flooding, but the problem is that residents say it was brought out Saturday morning, hours after it had already stopped raining.
"It should have been there on Friday," Barkoskie said. "They knew it was going to rain like that. They should have pumped down the levels in the lake."
Mayor Fland Sharp said in a phone interview that a permanent pump is under construction but is three months from completion. The pump is designed to keep water levels from getting too high.
In the meantime, Barkoskie is worried she'll have to deal with the city's rising water again.
"I mean, we're at the height of hurricane season, and they're three months away?" she said. "They need to have a pump out here when it's going to rain."
Barkosie's home was first flooded in 2000. She said she sued the city and received an out-of-court settlement seven years later.
Barkoskie said she hasn't yet spoken with city officials about the latest flooding.