FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. – Fort Myers Beach, which was ravaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, experienced storm surges and flooding Thursday thanks to Hurricane Helene.
Residents and regular visitors were still haunted by Ian, a massive, deadly storm that wiped out portions of southwest Florida.
“My wife knows people that passed away from the storm surge,” resident Casey Vogan said. “You can tell Fort Myers Beach is never going to be the same.”
Ian wiped out the Fort Myers Beach fishing pier.
Helene brought surface flooding and wind gusts expected to reach 50 to 60 mph Thursday.
“We hope that we now will not have these catastrophe as in 2022,” Olga, a regular visitor from Germany, told Local 10 News.
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Terron Mathes, one of the few who remained in a mobile home community, has been stranded and surrounded by storm surge.
“Between Debbie and Daliah we got storm surge, but not this bad,” he said. “I think it is because the storm was so big. A big storm. I didn’t expect this. I’ve been through some storms but this is the worst. Some people left but some people stayed. The people who stayed, this is what they got.”
Despite the danger posed by rough conditions, a group of girls played in the water on Fort Myers Beach Thursday.
Another resident tried to sit in a lawn chair near the surf.
Forecasters did not expect Helene to have a direct impact on southwest Florida, instead tracking towards the Panhandle.
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