Black Creek homeowners face flooding from weekend rainfall

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Life on the water is one of the reasons Suzzann Hoyt enjoys her home on Black Creek in Clay County.

“We decided to buy it because we wanted to be out in nature,” Hoyt said.

In 2017 when Hurricane Irma hit, nature encroached on houses along the North Fork.

“Our house which is about 12 feet off the ground, on stilts, had about 14 inches of water inside,” Hoyt said.

Sunday, the Action News Jax First Alert Weather Team tracked outer bands of Tropical Storm Cristobal as it dumped heavy rain on Northeast Florida.

Clay County Emergency Management issued a warning about the possibility of flooding on Black Creek.

The agency said those living in trailers and RVs, still dealing with Irma damage, were especially at risk.

“I check a few times throughout the night just to make sure that it wasn’t going to get too high,” Hoyt said.

According to county leaders, they work with homeowners to meet flood elevation standards, secure funding to move or demolish flood loss homes and clear debris from the waterway.

“We would probably stay at the house as long says it wasn’t going to get in the house,” Hoyt said.

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