CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A normal afternoon rainfall in Southwest Florida doesn't mean much for most people, but for people living on SE Ninth Terrace and surrounding roads they say it has taken a toll on their quality of life.
"It's been 20 years! Our properties are destroyed,” said Chris Doyon, a resident on SE Ninth Terrace.
Cape Coral Community Correspondent Bella Line first met Doyon last year at a City Council meeting where he showed her pictures of what his neighborhood goes through every summer.
Take a look at some of the flooding they have seen over the years:
"This isn't corrupt, this is criminal at this point,” said Doyon.
Flooding up to their front doors and for some, in their homes.
They say it has gotten worse since a gated community was built behind them.
"They're well aware of the issue, and after seeing last summer, I don't think we can make it through another summer,” said Doyon.
Fox 4 requested documents from the city that showed since 2019 the city has come out 36 times for various reasons regarding the drains.
Chris' neighbor, Charles Gillott, says it has become a health concern.
After picking up garbage from one storm, he says he was hospitalized from bacteria getting in a wound.
"It's a health issue, like I said. They said, when I got this, that's probably from feces and urine in the water,” said Gillott.
He says he is worried about what this summer could bring.
“The weather's getting worse and worse by the year which everybody knows, more hurricanes, more flooding,” said Gillott. “I said, one of these days it’s gonna end up in everybody's house here.”
At the last City Council meeting, the City Manager said staff was continuing to look into the flooding issue on their street.
