Flooding in Cape Coral can occur from two causes, heavy rain and storm surge. Aside from localized street flooding, the Cape’s stormwater infrastructure has proven to perform well relative to preventing flood losses to homes and businesses during rainstorms. However, it may not have adequate capacity if it rains hard enough for an extended period or if pipes get clogged. The other flood threat, storm surge, is a phenomenon usually associated with hurricanes. Amazingly, the storm surge can be as high as 25 feet in an intense hurricane. The areas most susceptible to storm surge are located near the coastline of Charlotte Harbor, the Caloosahatchee River and Matlacha Pass. Historically, high tides up to 12 feet above normal were reported at Fort Myers and Punta Rasa during the 1926 hurricane. In 1960, Hurricane Donna caused high-water marks of 10 to 11 feet on Estero Island. In 2004, Hurricane Charley made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida, near Cayo Costa, with maximum sustained winds of 130 knots. Because the eye shrank considerably in the 12 hours before landfall, these extreme winds were confined to a very small area, reducing storm surge potential. During landfall, the local area received an average of 3.91” of rainfall and North Naples reported rainfall of 7.48”. Other municipalities within Florida reported storm surge over 7’. If a hurricane watch is issued, please keep in mind that every hurricane is different and base your action plan on information specifically pertaining to the incoming storm.
