LAKELAND — The shirtless man bent forward in his dining room Wednesday afternoon and tore a hunk of drywall away from the studs.
The ruined material soon landed atop a growing pile in front of the man’s home on Pineville Lane in northwest Lakeland.
Many Pineville residents have undertaken the same task as the 64-year-old man, who gave only his first name, Tim. Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Milton struck, the one-street neighborhood still displayed the lasting impact of the storm, which dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in parts of Polk County.
While stacks of tree debris are commonly seen elsewhere in Polk, Pineville Lane teemed with piles of discarded household items — washers and dryers, headboards, mattresses, pillows, couches, TVs, speakers, clothing, coolers, dressers, doors and children’s toys. And untold pounds of drywall, removed from the lower sections of interior walls.
An odor of mildew pervaded the neighborhood.
Itchepackesassa Creek runs parallel to Pineville Lane, passing within about 50 feet of some duplexes and houses on the west side of the road. The neighborhood, set just south of Swindell Road, has flooded before, but residents said the water has never risen as high as it did during and soon after Milton passed directly over Polk County.