Cape Coral makes flood preparations ahead of possible tropical system

For the past week, many people have been focused on storm recovery, and now, as we go into this weekend, we could see more rain and flooded roadways.

Manny Carvajal loaded his truck up for stormy weather all over again.

“This is getting old, thinking of moving out of here,” said Carvajal.

He’s taking storm prep seriously because Hurricane Helene turned his garage into a small lake.

“Those are armoires in there, made of that pressboard. They don’t do very well when they get wet; they all collapse,” said Carvajal. “All this stuff I had in is all over the floor. I’m going for bins now, plastic bins with lids on shelves, and see if I can save anything just a second time. My house has gotten flooded two years to a day.”

So this time, Carvajal left Home Depot with plastic containers.

“Lost two cars in this storm,” said Carvajal. “We’re getting thinner and thinner about the stuff we’re keeping. A lot of stuff gets thrown right out. Don’t even bother to try to save it anymore.”

After Helene, Carvajal filed a flood insurance claim. Now, with several inches of rain predicted over the next few days, Carvajal is left wondering.

“Just put a claim into my flood insurance. They’re maxing out my policy. I don’t know if they’ll max out a week later again,” said Carvajal.

Unwilling to give up just yet, he loaded up the truck, the only one that survived Helene.

Despite losing so much, Carvajal hasn’t lost his sense of humor and positivity.

“Yeah, I need a million dollars,” laughed Carvajal. “No, I’m hoping everyone stays well and we all survive this.”

As for what areas typically see the most flooding, Cape Coral emergency management director Ryan Lamb warned about Diplomat Parkway and the Chiquita, Gleason and Trafalgar areas.