FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Homeowners on Fort Myers Beach are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which brought flooding and damage to homes along the southwest Florida coast.
Becky Weber, who lives on Curlew Street, described the devastation inside her home.
“We're throwing everything out. We have to. We got raw sewage in here,” she said as she showed Fox 4's community correspondent Mahmoud Bennett the extent of the debris in her bathroom.
Watch to see what the house looked like after the hurricane:
Overnight, Weber sent footage to Fox 4 from inside her home showing the toilet overflowing with water.
“I'm telling you, more water came out of here than came in from the outside,” Weber said.
The house was flooded with at least three feet of water.
The Webers' home is no stranger to flooding. She mentioned that drainage issues have plagued her street for years.
Despite their efforts to seal the house before Hurricane Helene hit, water still entered, contaminating the first floor with what appeared to be dirt and raw sewage.
“Look at this, all the way through. And this is all in the house, so we're walking on it,” Weber said, pointing out the extent of the damage.
Fortunately, Becky was able to save most of her important items by moving them to the upper level of her home.
Flooding has been a persistent problem on Curlew Street and Fox 4 first reported on the issue during Tropical Storm Debby.
Weber said she and her neighbors have reported the flooding issues to the town and county for years, but nothing has changed.
"You know, what are you gonna do? It is what it is, and we just have to get through it,” she said.
Despite the damage, Weber is staying positive. She’s more worried about the people in Florida's Big Bend, which took the hardest hit from the Category 4 storm.
“We're fine. We gotta stay positive. It's not Ian. We're not in the Big Bend. Those are the people that need the most help,” she said.
