Hurricane Ian forced some Central Florida business owners to close their doors and leave their businesses alone as the storm rolled through. However, the owner of Captain Jed’s Airboat Rides in DeLand said he’s been sleeping in his car for nine days right outside his building, right next to the St. Johns River.

What You Need To Know

  •  The owner of Captain Jed's Airboat Rides in DeLand says he is still struggling to keep floodwaters out of his building

  •  Joe Neidlinger said he has been sleeping in his vehicle every night to make sure a pump keeps working 24 hours a day

  • He said he planned for Hurricane Ian, but expects to be even better prepared in the future

Capt. Joe Neidlinger said he is still sleeping next to his building even after the storm passed because he has a pump running 24 hours a day to keep water out of his business and wants to make sure nothing goes wrong.

He has been giving sightseeing tours of the St. Johns River and its nature for more than three years. While he took steps to prepare for this storm, he said he plans to be even more prepared next time.

“Family has done airboat rides for 30 years total," he said. "I have never seen anything like this."

Neidlinger said he is trying to find small victories during this difficult time. For him, not being completely flooded out is one of those wins.

“My wife asked me, she goes, ‘You’re pumping water out of the office, coming right back in.’" he said. "I’ve only got an inch and a half inch, inch and a half of water in my office. There is 15 inches of water that I’m holding back. It’s a win for me. Like, what else am I going to do?”

Another thing he is thankful for is that he has a concrete building that has been in place since the 1950s, and he believes without it, the damage would have been much worse. He can’t insure the building because he leases it and doesn’t think insurance will step in.

“My insurance company won’t touch it,” he said. 

Neidlinger said the current amount of damage is certainly something he will be able to rebuild from.

“It is going to take a lot of elbow grease and some hard work," he said. "A lot of bleach."

He said he understands the situation could be a lot worse, especially when looking at the damage done in southwest Florida, so he is trying to find the positive during this difficult time.

Neidlinger said he expects the flooding to continue getting worse, so his airboat rides won’t be starting back up anytime soon.