FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Residents of Fort Myers Beach are reaching their breaking point as constant flooding caused by storms continues to disrupt their lives.
WATCH FORT MYERS BEACH COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT ANVAR RUZIEV SPEAK WITH NEIGHBORS LOOKING TO RELOCATE:
Many who had just begun to recover from the damage left by Hurricane Ian are now grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
For some, this latest storm has pushed them to make the difficult decision to leave the island for good.
For years, Fort Myers Beach has seen storm after storm, with residents facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. Cleanup continues in the wake of Hurricane Helene, with tons of sand being scrubbed off the streets and waterlogged belongings pushed to the curb.
One of those belongings is Joe Holzer’s car, a 2022 Chevy Traverse. Holzer, who lost a vehicle in Hurricane Ian as well, remarks, “That's my 2022 Chevy Traverse, junk.”
Holzer estimates that the damages from Hurricane Helene alone have cost him over $50,000. Despite the financial burden, he remains hesitant about leaving. “
I don't know how many more we can do, but for now we're staying,” he said, holding on to hope for the island’s future.
But not all residents are as patient. Neighbor Nicholas Noti and his family have made the difficult decision to put their home up for sale after losing their second vehicle and enduring the ongoing storms.
“It just makes me sad that we have to sell because we've had this house since the '80s, and I've been coming here since I was one year old,” Noti shared, reflecting on decades of family memories.
The frequent flooding, which wasn’t a problem before Hurricane Ian, has now become an annual event for some. “We flood two times a year now after Ian—never flooded before that—we're just sick of it,” Noti explained.
The costs and the emotional toll have become too much for Noti's family to bear and now they have chosen to relocate to Cape Coral.
