ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- A St. Johns County neighborhood next to a very popular beach is dealing with two major issues: drainage and erosion.
Porpoise Point is between Vilano Beach and the St. Augustine Inlet.
"During Matthew the water was as high as the mailbox," David Hudson pointed to his mailbox. He has lived in the Porpoise Point area for about 10 years.
During the past two hurricanes, he and his neighbors discovered there's a big drainage issue here, and they want to tackle the problem before the next hurricane.
Porpoise Point is surrounded by water on three sides. During the hurricanes, he said the water rushed in.
"So this entire street was covered with water. I'd say 3 or 4 feet," Vic Addison said. He lives just down the street in Porpoise Point. He said after Matthew, the water escaped through a broken seawall. The wall was fixed, and then Irma came, and the water on the streets "just sat here. For a week, people couldn't get through."
Addison said he and his neighbors had to use kayaks to get through the neighborhood for days.
He said there are safety concerns with mosquitos and "You cant' get emergency vehicles in very easily."
"The water has nowhere to evacuate," Hudson said.
"It's an easily fixable situation," Addison added.
Many people in the Porpoise Point community say they need to find a way to let the flood waters escape. Their idea is to lay some sort of drainage system under a piece of property so the water can flow out to the Intracoastal Waterway.
"And have some kind of check-valve system so water doesn't come in reverse. And every time the tide goes down, the water goes out," Addison explained.
Neighbors have asked the county for this drainage help.
"They (county staff) are going to come out and study our drainage system again," Hudson said.
Neighbors hope the study and work can be done before another hurricane floods the place again.