People who live along the Imperial River bracing for possible flooding from Eta

Reporter: Rachel Cox-Rosen Writer: Drew Hill
Published: Updated:
Imperial River
Imperial River flooding in 2017

During Hurricane Irma, flooding from the Imperial River caused lots of damage to homes. Neighbors hope this time around, with Tropical Storm Eta, they’re spared from the flooding.

Jan Farring lived here in 2017 and is no stranger to flooding. “Just massive destruction,” Farring said. That’s what she saw. Homes almost submerged underwater.

Juan Romero also witnessed Irma’s destruction. “It hurt to see it. People were out of luck completely,” said Romero.

He isn’t expecting anything nearly that bad this time around. But, with Eta looming, Romero says he does still worry slightly. “If it gets so much rain, it’s almost guaranteed that area is going to be underwater,” he said.

Over at Imperial Bonita Estates, Bob Theroux also remembers what going through Irma was like. “Water up to where you are now, up to our knees,” Theroux said.

So for Tropical Storm Eta, Bob has his sandbags. He’s ready. “Water, food, batteries, you know the typical,” Theroux said.

Lee Seitz lives just down the street but he says he hasn’t done much preparing. “”We just expect a lot of rain, a lot of wind, I took my flag down,” Seitz said.

He’s going to ride out Eta in his workshop. “Rain or shine, I do my work,” said Seitz.

Community members do say there have been heavy improvements to mitigate the flood risk since Hurricane Irma came through three years. Now, with Eta, they’re simply hoping for the best.

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