Some of the biggest fears Fort Myers Beach residents have come true while Hurricane Helene passed the SWFL coast Thursday, including a storm surge.
If their homes weren’t originally Gulf-front properties, they became one around 5 p.m. Thursday, so much so that the roads on the island were impassible. One of the crews had to hunker down so the news van didn’t flood.
But as the water cleared, the clean-up began once again on the island, almost two years to the day when Hurricane Ian hit our coast.
Forceful winds and a high storm surge equal a recipe for disaster. Most residents and business owners across the island know that to be true after living through Hurricane Ian.
“I stayed with Ian, too,” Fort Myers Beach resident Daniel Curran said. “I could reach out my kitchen window and touch the water on that one. That was like 12 or 14 feet deep, but this was minor."
Now, there is a lot of cleanup for everybody. Many started bright and early Friday morning.
“The water actually came up over the dock probably a foot or so,” Snug Harbor owner Peter Ennis said. "We took all our coolers out and put them in our floodproof kitchen, so that helps.”
They were scrubbing down everything Hurricane Helene touched as she swept past our coast, but over on the beach, visitors have found some treasures she left behind.
“I found someone's car remote and my wife's, shelling,” said Ron Humphrey who was visiting the beach. “Tomorrow we will come back and if they have the buckets back, I will pick up as well.”
Through all of the clean-up on the island, the overwhelming goal is to always build back stronger than before.
“You've seen how everyone works together on the beach,” Ennis said. “Resilient FMB.”
They said this is the price you pay to live and work in paradise.