For 21-year-old Jack Carr, the worst of Hurricane Irma came on the sunny days following the storm’s ruthless path through Florida.
“We had power and Wi-Fi and A.C. all through the storm,” said Carr, a resident of The Place at Alafaya Apartments near the University of Central Florida.
The storm — which destroyed homes and left millions without power — was still dealing a significant blow for residents in Orange County this week as they returned to find their homes and vehicles under water.
On Monday afternoon, Carr went out to the parking lot and saw water had reached his car’s tires.
“I made some food and took a nap for about an hour, and when I came back into the living room, water had started coming through the door,” said Carr, who has been living in his apartment for about two months.
That night, fearing the worst, he started to pack up his belongings.
“I looked outside to see if I could try and open the door,” the UCF sophomore said, but the water was already up to his ankles. “We actually had to pack all our things up and leave out the window.”
Orange County Fire Rescue was at the complex on Monday and Tuesday making sure affected residents didn’t risk being electrocuted, Carr said. Several units in the back of the complex had red pieces of paper pasted on the windows that said, “UNSAFE: Enter at your own risk.”
Sheila Bonnough, 23 — who stayed with her parents in Melbourne through the storm — barely slept Monday night after getting a call from a neighbor that her apartment would most likely be flooded.
Though she was able to rescue most of her belongings by using an air mattress a neighbor lent her, the graduate-school student said she still lost some important items.
“I had a bookcase of binders, and the bottom row was just binders and they were all of my class notes since undergrad, so five years of notes, those are gone,” Bonnough said.
But not all The Place residents were affected.
Joseph Lopez, 50, who was wearing trash bags over his shoes, was spreading mosquito repellent in the still water in front of his unit.
“It stopped at my door. It was kind of God’s blessing,” Lopez said.
Trish Halsey, the property manager at The Place, said the complex was working with a restoration company and handing out information to residents about shelters.
“Basically we’re doing everything we can to know that they’re comfortable,” Halsey said.
Though the water was receding, Lopez pointed out a car with the rear window shattered by a tree branch.
“That guy hasn’t even been here in more than three days,” he said.
bpadro@orlandosentinel.com, 407-232-0202 or follow me on Twitter @BiancaJoanie
