FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Fort Myers Beach has declared a local state of emergency after Debby caused severe flooding across the island.
On Sunday, during high tide, the island experienced severe rain and a storm surge that left some residents trapped. As the waters receded, some streets remained inundated with several inches of water making it into homes on Curlew Street.
"It came up from the sewers, it came up from the canal," said local resident Michael Waltman as he described seeing water enter from his front door.
Curlew Street on Fort Myers Beach still had at least 4 inches of water in some places on Monday, a day after the storm. Unlike other parts of the island that just saw external flooding, water actually went inside homes on Curlew Street.
Some residents told Fox 4 they had to deal with five inches of water flooding their homes overnight.
"We had most of the water coming in through the front because it comes in from the street," said Becki Weber, a resident of Fort Myers Beach. Nearly two inches of water spread into her living room, kitchen, and bedrooms.
"We had no place to put the water because we weren't going to open the doors and we had the front door taped shut too, so we wouldn't get water under that – but we did," Weber explained.
A senior inspector for the city stated that the street's lack of drainage is being addressed and plans are in the works for a new valve soon.
However, residents have expressed frustration over the long-standing issue.
"It happens every time there's bad rain or a really high tide," said Waltman. "And we've been complaining about it for years. They've tried to do certain fixes. None of it's worked," he added.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers acknowledged the severity of the flooding, comparing it to Hurricane Ian. "It's unfortunate, but being on a barrier island, sometimes you gotta expect that's going to happen."
"It was just the surge, the high tide, and the heavy bands of rain we got all at the same time yesterday that created the perfect mess," Allers said. "We'll get through it. It's a rain event compared to Ian, so we'll take it in strides and continue to move on," he added.
The state of emergency allows the town to utilize certain emergency management and spending powers as it responds to the disaster.
