LAKE OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (WSVN) — Residents in the town of Pahokee, along Lake Okeechobee, are worried because the rain from Hurricane Dorian could threaten an aging dike that runs all the way around the lake.
Residents could be seen boarding up their homes in preparation for the hurricane’s arrival, Friday.
Tammy Dullis spent the day shuttering up her home. Although the shutters will protect her home from debris, Dullis lives along the aging Herbert Hoover Dike.
If Dorian sits on top of Lake Okeechobee, the water will rise and put pressure on the dike that holds all of its water inside.
“When it stalls, you get more water, and the more water you get, the worse it is,” Dullis said. “It is iffy. I’m just hoping all the repairs they have been doing for the last 15 years hold up.”
As of Friday, lake water levels are just under 14 feet. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the risks increase if the water rises to about 17 feet, and if Dorian sits on top of the lake and dumps rain, they could have to open emergency flood gates.
The Army Corps of Engineers have made significant repairs to the dike recently. They said they have done pre-storm inspections and found no issues, and as the water rises, they will increase the frequency of those inspections and looking for any leaks.
Carol Peaden owns a barber shop next to the dike.
She said she is confident it will hold, but it is still nerve-racking with the dike sitting so close.
“I do not have insurance,” Peaden said. “You know, if I lose this, I don’t know what I will do. It is hard for people like me.”
The town’s residents are on edge, and most of the businesses and homes have been boarded up.
Although everyone has their way of dealing with the stress a hurricane can bring, Carol prefers to sing and pray that her town will be spared.
The Army Corps of Engineers believe the dike will hold during the hurricane. They said as the storm comes closer, they will increase their inspections to make sure everything looks the way it is supposed to.
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