Florida resident Scott Martin arrived at Fort Myers Beach on Tuesday afternoon when police told him to avoid the area due to severe weather threats from Hurricane Idalia.
“They’re not letting anyone on the island,” Martin shared on Facebook. “I can’t believe it’s already flooded like this. The storm hasn’t even hit.”
Martin was living in downtown Fort Myers when Hurricane Ian devastated the area in September 2022. His car survived the storm, but his building suffered intense flooding.
In photos shared with CNN, you can see a police officer stopping a string of cars with ocean waves crashing in the distance.
Strong winds are shaking the palm trees as heavy rain continues to fall, covering the local roads.
Video shows murky brown water flooding the street as Martin and several other vehicles slowly attempt to leave the area.
The deadly hurricane less than a year ago: After Hurricane Ian, helicopter footage of the area showed debris and vacant lots where homes and other buildings had been swept away.
Fort Myers Beach, which sits on a 7-mile-long island along the Gulf of Mexico, saw “total devastation, catastrophic” after Ian, Fort Myers Beach Town Councilman Dan Allers said at the time.
Allers told CNN in September 2022 that an estimated 90% of the island was gone.
