UPDATE - Serious Flooding on Pine Island

As is the tendency is in the summer months, the skies opened up August 25, 2017 on southwest Florida and Bokeelia and Pine Island Roads and yards went underwater.

There where reports that some homes on Pine Island had water coming in and Pineland road had to be closed. Many other roads were flooded and impassable.

It is estimated that since last Thursday, August 24th, within the last 5 days, there has been more than 20 inches of rain fall in the Pine island area. Before this latest round of rain the area had already racked up 40 inches. This puts the area over the yearly average of 55 inches by more than 10 inches and the year is not over. Although Bokeelia does not have an official weather station, Jim McLaughlin, a meteorologist living in Bokeelia says this is a good estimate.

US Climate Data states that average rain in August is 10 inches. Saturday August 26th, 2017, WINK News reported a two day rain fall on Pine Island was 19 inches.

Our area may have been a national story had it not been for the continuing disaster in Texas. Those of us who experienced Hurricane Charley and spent the next 4 years recovering, appreciate the fact that Charley blew everything away with upwards of 150 mph winds and torrents of rain but sped through the area and was gone 4 hours later.

Water has no way to move rapidly. Drainage problems with the inconsistently placed culverts along Stringfellow Road and side roads causes water to backup and often washout the shell side roads. Better drainage engineering is needed on Stringfellow Road so the water has a way to move. However, we live in a tropical paradise where rains, even seemingly historic ones have been a natural occurrence since time began.