Alafia River threatens nearby homes during rainy month of May

VALRICO (FOX 13) - People who live along the Alafia River are keeping a close eye on the forecast.

As rain continues to fall and the river continues to rise, they are struggling to remember floods like this during the month of May.

Hurricane season hasn’t arrived yet, but you wouldn’t know it along the Alafia.

People along River Drive in Valrico know what it's like during Florida's rainy season. 

“The Lord got us through the last one and he’ll get us through this one, but we are praying that the river doesn’t rise,” said Susan Jenkins.

She and her husband, Todd were flooded when Hurricane Irma rolled through last September.

But now, less than a year later, some streets in their neighborhood are covered with three feet of water after heavy rains last week raised the river to more than 14 feet, a foot above flood stage.

“We have a canoe at the end and when it gets too high and the truck won’t make it, we just canoe in and out,” says Marion Price, whose home on 9-foot stilts was flooded by Irma.

With an uncertain forecast, Price prepares for the worst.

I ask, “When does life get back to normal? After hurricane season,” she answers.