Road collapse cuts off Palm Bay Estates neighbors as World Central Kitchen delivers food

The only road connecting dozens of Palm Bay Estates residents to the rest of their neighborhood washed away during Monday’s historic flooding. Three days later, they’re still relying on outside help just to get dinner.

A massive washout along Indian River Drive Northeast has left an estimated 80 to 100 people without normal vehicle access to their homes in the 55-and-older community.

Residents have been walking across a makeshift path alongside the damaged roadway, sometimes carrying bicycles across, but cars still cannot get through.

News 6 was there Thursday as crews continued dumping dirt into the damaged roadway, which still looked more like a disaster zone than a neighborhood street.

Meanwhile, help has been arriving in the form of food and supplies.

World Central Kitchen provided meals Thursday, with firefighters and other first responders helping get supplies to people on the other side of the washout.

Barbara Ballou, who lives just down the street, said she’s grateful for the help.

“I’m down to two cans and tuna fish,” Ballou said.

Ballou said her home still has electricity and running water, and she’s thankful nobody was hurt. But after days without normal access to the outside world, food deliveries are only part of what neighbors need.

“Well, we want to be able to get out,” Ballou said. “You know, it’s like they said, they have doctor’s appointments. Want to go to the grocery store? If we could just even have a temporary bridge to get us in and out. That would be wonderful.”

And this isn’t the first time residents here have dealt with a collapsed road.

News 6 reported on a similar washout in June, when residents raised concerns about an aging drainage pipe and questions over who was responsible for repairs.

Five months later, they’re once again waiting for a way to drive out of their neighborhood. A timeline for restoring vehicle access has not been confirmed.

World Central Kitchen’s relief efforts extend beyond Palm Bay Estates.

The international disaster relief organization says it’s also working with local partners to feed families in Barefoot Bay, a community in southern Brevard County where News 6 reported earlier this week on homes surrounded by floodwaters and people struggling to get to work.

For neighbors in Palm Bay Estates, the food is welcome. But what they really want is something much simpler: a way to get back to their normal lives.