SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — In at least two Sarasota neighborhoods, concerns have continued to run high as extreme weather developing in the gulf draws closer.
Neighbors hope not to see a repeat of the catastrophic flooding left in the wake of Hurricane Debby last month.
Officials drained water from the nearby Celery Fields as part of ongoing preparations to help hold the incoming rain. That area was where adjoining neighborhoods saw high to severe flooding during Debby.
Despite these efforts, some neighbors still aren't happy and are calling for more to be done.
Neighborhood leaders from Laurel Meadows and nearby developments along Lorraine Road and Palmer Boulevard came together Tuesday to see what storm prep work is going on in their area. They expressed concerns that some of the issues they believed potentially worsened Debby's flooding for them still exist and they're worried about what Helene would bring.
"The problem lies right here. It's a culvert about this big that has to drain the entire neighborhood," said Matt Jonas with the Laurel Meadows Homeowners Association.
The anxious neighbors want to make sure the flooding, which saw water as high as three feet sit in people's homes for days, doesn't happen again.
"There's an excavator right now dredging this canal because the county knows this is a problem so there's they brought out an excavator the day before another hurricane came," Jonas said.
Neighbors believe the culvert once used as a path for cattle crossing between what used to be pastures created the bottleneck in the flow of water between developments.
They say if it stays, all their recovery efforts after Debby would be for nothing in the potential likelihood that it clogs again due to heavy rainfall.
"I just started putting up drywall now and I've got another storm coming," Jonas said. "Originally, I was happy the storm was coming to see if it was going to flood again, to see if the problem was fixed or to see if it was a fluke with some kind of rain issue but now today right now, knowing that this is a problem and it could be solved really easy."
County officials say crews had been out for the past few days draining the Celery Fields and Cow Pen Slough while clearing out debris and vegetation from storm drains. Crew would still be working on other flood hot spots Wednesday as the storm system draws near.
"We are looking at all stormwater for structure to clear hotspots of existing debris. Make sure they're open for Flow in addition to all of our stormwater stations down on Saint Armand's, Siesta Key Beach, and along Philippi Creek," said Spencer Anderson, Sarasota County Public Works Director.
For the neighbors, that's not giving them peace of mind for the time being.
"Minimally for preventative, not permanent but preventative solution, just to make sure that we don't flood again, yes pumps need to come here if they don't dig this dam out which in essence it's a dam," Jonas said.
With Sarasota County under a local state of emergency, officials are advising everyone to get ready and make a plan now if they haven't done so already.
They urge residents to get those sandbags in place and valuables to a higher level and be ready to evacuate as a worst-case scenario.
Level A evacuation alerts, which include mobile homes will start going out at 7 a.m. Wednesday and evacuation centers will open at noon as well.