Debby causes localized flooding in areas for islands
When Tropical Storm Debby rolled by Southwest Florida on Aug. 4, it caused heavy flooding on Sanibel and Captiva before making landfall the next day in the Big Bend area as a hurricane.
The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District and Captiva Island Fire Control District reported flooding in certain areas and impassable roads as the storm dropped 3-6 inches of rain around Lee County.
“A lot of what we saw was localized flooding in areas,” Deputy Fire Chief John DiMaria, with the Sanibel district, said. “We experienced a lot of wind and a lot of rain — but nothing really impactful.”
Captiva Fire Chief Jeff Pawul described the situation as similar to what Sanibel experienced.
“A lot of localized flooding from the surge level. Coupled with the high tide and the new moon, the surge levels were a little bit higher than we hoped,” he said. “I think the high tide was 3 feet about normal and then the surge was another 2 to 5 (feet) on top of that. Probably 5 to 7 feet about normal.”
DiMaria reported that there was heavy flooding at Blind Pass with the high tide and surge. North of Rabbit Road some homes may have had water intrusion. West Gulf Drive flooded in certain areas, and East Gulf Drive also saw heavy flooding.
“With the help of the Sanibel Police Department and city of Sanibel, we were able to patrol all the areas and mark them,” he said, adding that some vehicles got stuck in ditches, but there were no injuries.
Pawul also reported that Blind Pass flooded, cutting Captiva off from its sister island — and its sole evacuation route — for an estimated 12 hours. The waters rose to just below the bridge’s height.
“Flooding was our biggest area of concern,” he said. “It was too deep in a lot of places for our vehicles to access.”
Before the storm’s arrival, the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District provided a high-water vehicle for the district to use if it needed it. The Sanibel district has one — its brush truck — but it also requested an additional vehicle for a backup, which was provided by the Lee County Port Authority.
“We have pickup trucks,” DiMaria said. “But there were certain areas that I was concerned about passing.”
Both islands experienced some downed vegetation.
“There were a few areas that we had to take care of, but nothing major,” DiMaria said.
Pawul reported that a couple of things had to be cleared along Captiva Drive.
“We had the normal blocked roads with trees and vegetation that we always get with bad storms,” he said, explaining that it was not as bad through because most vegetation was lost in Hurricane Ian.
There were also power outages reported on Sanibel and Captiva.
DiMaria noted that there were some fire alarm calls.
“Luckily, no real emergencies that emerged from the storm itself,” he added.
Pawul echoed that sentiment.
“We got quite lucky,” he said.