Fort Myers Beach, Times Square cleanup progressing after Idalia
Fort Myers Beach is out of the woods – or the storm, so to speak.
Hurricane Idalia passed the Ian-battered island town by, causing minimal damage and flooding to the still-standing infrastructure and homes, the mayor announced Thursday.
The storm dumped up to 16 inches of rain on Fort Myers Beach, and storm surge reached roughly 3 feet on the island, bringing with it more than a foot of sand and debris that it dumped before receding back into the Gulf.
But on Fort Myers Beach the clean-ups are already underway, Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said Thursday. Special attention is being paid to historic attraction Times Square, as well as Bayside Park, the town park at the corner of Old San Carlos Boulevard and First Street.
Bayside had just been re-opened after a million-dollar renovation when Hurricane Ian hit the island.
“Public works is out at both places,” Allers said. “They’re getting the sunshades up at Bayside Park and the turf is going in. They’re finishing up some electrical work and cleanup at Times Square.”
Public Works is attacking the foot-and-a half of sand and debris covering Times Square with shovels and a skidsteer, according to Allers. None of the businesses reported flooding inside. Some lost plants and other items, but the news was generally good from residents and proprietors alike.
First and Crescent streets flooded during Idalia, but Allers said the floodwaters had since receded. He was not aware of any homes suffering significant flooding during the most recent storm, but did say some first-floor apartments reported an inch or two of water inside during the storm.
Allers added that there might still be some standing water left in low-lying streets that were the town had planned to do work on even before Ian.
“We had three tiers of side street work we were going to be doing,” Allers said. “Obviously Ian came and pushed that back a little bit. As soon as we get our feet back under us we’re going to start back up again.”
After Hurricane Ian the storm drains were blocked by sand and debris; Earthworks had nearly finished cleaning all of them out, Allers said, and now they were going to have to start all over again.
“It’s a daily occurrence,” Allers said. “Once they get back there and work their way down the island, they have to go back and start all over again. It’s not a one-and-done situation. As sand blows in and fills in, we have to keep them clean as best they can.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What happened to Fort Myers Beach, Times Square during Idalia?
