Ian debris makes flooding issue in Cape Coral worse

Cape Coral now has power in most areas, but now it’s dealing with flooding issues because of the debris left behind by Ian.

The county said throughout the rainy season, residents can expect localized flooding during and after thunderstorms.

“Now they got the electricity on and the water’s on, and in front of everyone’s yard there’s all this trash,” said Tom Dugan, a Cape Coral resident. “People lost a lot of stuff.”

Cape Coral Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard has seen flooding in recent days.

“There’s a couple of locations in Cape Coral which, you know, have a little flooding, but never like this. this is rare,” Dugan said. “This is what they call a once-in-500-year storm.”

Some areas are worse than others but driving on Del Prado, debris and leaves is covering the spots where water would be draining.

“This storm system, the drainage and everything is taken care of, for years,” Dugan said. “I’ve never had water in this house, not even close. this is just that one, this is because of a unique situation.”

“Lee county DOT is also working with our Solid Waste Department and our debris removal contractor to ensure that localized flooding is mitigated while they work to remove debris from the roadways,” said Rob Price, deputy director of Lee DOT.

The City of Cape Coral said they are tackling issues as they come, but nothing of nothing major of note regarding flooding.