On the two-year mark since Hurricane Ian battered Sanibel Island , city officials provided an update Saturday on the progress made since despite a “step backward” because of Hurricane Helene.
Sanibel Mayor Richard Johnson said two days after Helene scraped the barrier island Thursday, some roads continue to hold water and electricity restoration efforts remain active.
Johnson said the city’s Island Water Association notified there were no pressure changes. He said a boil water notice is not effective.
City Manager Dana Souza said that while officials expected up to 8 inches of rain, rain gauges instead showed the community saw between 2 and 3 inches of rain. He said isolated areas could have experienced more rainfall.
Before Helene, Souza said, the city already accrued 53 inches of rain this year.
“Our system was full,” Souza said. “Our ground was saturated already.”
In all of last year, Souza said, rainfall totals reached 35 inches of rain.
Souza said other impacts to island roads include the presence of leaf matter and smaller debris. He said the city and county have finished scraping sand off the Blind Pass Beach area.