What causes flooding?
Tropical Storms and Hurricanes
Hurricanes pack a triple punch: high winds, soaking rain, and flying debris. They can cause storm surges to coastal areas, as well as create heavy rainfall, which in turn causes flooding hundreds of miles inland. Coastal communities like Sarasota, Naples, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Sanibel, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, and Fort Myers Beach are at the greatest risk. Inland communities such as Fort Myers, Estero, Lehigh Acres, and North Port can also be affected as we’ve seen in recent years. When hurricanes weaken into tropical storms, they generate rainfall and flooding that can be especially damaging since the rain collects in one place.
Heavy Rains
We experience torrential downpours in Southwest Florida during the summer months. As we saw in 2008, it doesn’t take a tropical storm or hurricane to produce enough rain to flood even our inland communities.
New Development
Construction and development can change the natural drainage and create brand new flood risks. That’s because new buildings, parking lots, and roads lead to less and less land to absorb excess precipitation from heavy rains, hurricanes, and tropical storms.
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