‘What about us?’; Flooding on Fort Myers Beach causes ongoing issues for residents

Many people are still repairing damage from Hurricane Ian more than a year ago, even now, the storm has caused damage that’s still flooding streets in Fort Myers Beach.

It’s another nuisance for residents of Fort Myers Beach as they look to rebuild.

“Heavy rains, surging or a light surge, our entire street will flood from Sterling to Seminole Way,” said Keith, a resident of Fort Myers Beach, “From what I am told, we are one of the lowest parts of the Island, so it’s really bad for us. There could be a big storm and this area all through here always floods.”

Keith is not alone in his frustration. WINK News reporter Olivia Jean spoke with many neighbors who feel his pain.

Seminole Way and Pepita Street are the two streets that have been named a priority for the Fort Myers Beach Street improvement project.

Those who live on Pepita Street said they only experience a small amount of flooding, but on Seminole Way, the flooding has been bad for years.

“it goes right up your driveway, right through, and floods,” said Carole Newsam, a resident of Fort Myers Beach.

In addition to the two streets that have been named a priority, 17 other streets are also getting flood improvements, with the last street being finished at the end of August.

“I’ve lost cars. I lost everything in my house, my appliances,” said Newsam.

Some neighbors even said that before it rains, they have to move their cars to higher ground.

Carole said that she and her neighbors have been speaking out about this issue for years.

“No one ever came down Sterling or Seminole, so it kept skipping our streets,” said Newsam, “That’s when I started, like going into town meetings and like, ‘Hey, what about us? No one’s come down here’. “

Construction trucks should start filling in the streets in a matter of days.

A full list of approved streets in the project is available here.