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Withlacoochee creeps up on neighbors
By WILL VAN SANT RIDGE MANOR -- Christmas morning brought continued flooding to residents of eastern Hernando County who live along the Withlacoochee River, but current forecasts call for waters to crest and subside by early Saturday. Dianna Measels, whose home is near Roundtable Road and Merlin Circle, spent Christmas Eve helping her neighbors get their refrigerator and stove up on cinder blocks and their rugs off the floor. Her own house is elevated and was dry inside Christmas morning, but two-thirds of her yard was under water. It ran 4 feet deep in some places. All she could see of her backyard picnic area was the umbrella that covers the table next to the barbecue. "I'm not happy about it," said Measels, 45. "I just don't let it get me down. You learn to live with the river." Measels lives near Cyril Drive, which is of particular concern to county officials. The road, parts of which were submerged, was considered passable as of Christmas morning, said acting emergency management coordinator Danny Roberts. But if rising waters make it impossible for police and fire personnel to use Cyril Drive, officials were prepared to open a nearby state trail to vehicles, Roberts said. "We're monitoring that real close," he said. As expected, heavy rains on Christmas Eve pushed the swollen river further beyond its banks. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Withlacoochee stood at 13.6 feet. The river floods at 12 feet. Forecasts call for clear skies in coming days, and the river is expected to crest at 14.1 feet at 1 a.m. Saturday. Though parts of roads in the Ridge Manor area also were under water, Roberts said people were able to get to and from their homes. Shane Williams, 14, who lives on Tamer Lane in Talisman Estates, spent his Christmas Eve fastening a 400-pound compressor to the floor of the family shed so it wouldn't float away, and putting more easily hefted items such as welders and motors up on egg crates. He planned to pick up a friend on his all-terrain vehicle and perhaps go for a boat ride before his family gathered for dinner Christmas evening. The water was close to his home, having submerged his back yard. What troubled Williams most about the situation, he said, were the creatures a rising Withlacoochee sometimes brings to his door. "With my nieces coming over, you have to worry about snakes and gators and stuff," he said.
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