Jack Procell coated his arms, neck and legs with bug spray on the weekend beginning Friday, Aug. 29, before stepping into a canoe with his father-in-law, Larry Appleton, who would see his house for the first time since Lake Harney started to spill over a week earlier.

 

FEMA declared Seminole County a disaster area late Sunday as the lake finally crested at 11.09 feet, a foot above the previous record set in 1924. The area reached flood level, 8.5 feet, on Aug. 23, the tail end of lingering Tropical Storm Fay. Since then, the lake, more like a bloated area of the St. Johns east of Geneva, has been slowly rising.

 

"Creep is all it is," Procell said above the buzz of insects that festered on the water's surface. "It's creeping in."

 

Appleton had been fortunate so far. Two hundred sandbags have successfully kept the water dumped by Fay out of his house. "From what I hear, it's kind of on an island," he said. "We have about four or five inches until the water comes over."

 

Many county residents are holding their breath as they watch Hanna, a tropical storm as of Wednesday, when the lake level had receded to just 10.95 feet. If her rain bands hit the county this week, it could make sandbag fortresses obsolete. 

 

The west side of Crossover Lane, about 1,000 feet from the lake, has been acting as a "boat launch" for Appleton and other Whitcomb Drive residents. Vehicles lined the edges of Jungle Road on Friday morning as residents paddled back and forth to check on their homes — some underwater, some not, at least not yet. 

 

A rifle lay across the middle seat of Procell's boat, protection against the 12-foot alligator lurking in front of his father-in-law's house, snakes, and whatever else had been carried in by the rising waters. Procell said he had to shoot a water moccasin the day before that got too close to him while he was wading through the 2-feet-deep water by the house.

 

Insects are also a problem. Ant colonies, looking for higher ground, have invaded homes. An elderly Chuluota man died from red ant bites after the insects invaded his home to escape the water.

 

Mosquitoes are thriving in the waters. On Saturday, the county, hoping to control the insects' population, doused puddles and pools between Oviedo and the shores of Lake Jesup with larvae-killing chemicals.

 

Yet another threat: skittish homeowners. One Geneva resident who paddled in at the launch said a homeowner threatened to shoot him and a friend earlier that week. The gun-toting man mistook the neighbors for looters, he said.

 

As of Aug. 28, 460 Seminole County homes have reported damage as a result of Fay. That amounts to about $9.5 million in losses, the county estimated. That price would likely rise once the water recedes and officials can better assess the damage.

 

Lake Monroe and Lake Jesup are also spilling over. In the Black Hammock, residents are frustrated with the county, which they say has neglected the drainage canals that go to the lake, making things worse.

 

"It flooded everybody twice as bad," said Don Peterson, resident and president of the Black Hammock Association. "The county treats us like a red-headed stepchild."

 

As for the lakefront residents in Geneva, they don't know when they'll be able to move back into their homes.

 

"It could be a month," said Appleton, who's lived there since 1974. "It's beautiful 99 percent of the time, but that 1 percent …"

  

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Seminole County said if conditions worsen because of Tropical Storm Hanna this week, they would mandate evacuations in low-lying areas. For updates on weather conditions and where to find sandbags and open shelters, visit PrepareSeminole.org.

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Seminole County residents are eligible for federal aid to help with damage caused by Tropical Storm Fay. Please call 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or visit FEMA.gov and click on "Disaster Assistance" to apply.