Sen. Rick Scott visits Fort Myers Beach

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott visited Fort Myers Beach Sunday as part of a tour of counties throughout Florida hit by Hurricane Helene.

In an interview with the Breeze Newspapers, the Florida Republican said he would be working with FEMA to get Fort Myers Beach aid to help with its ongoing stormwater drainage issues. Scott said he is hopeful FEMA will provide the assistance Fort Myers Beach needs.

"Fort Myers Beach has had consistent issues," Scott said.

"You have businesses and families impacted by Ian, Debby and now Helene," he said. "Clearly, more investment is needed to make sure we have better drainage."

Scott said he would be working with FEMA to come up with more funding for mitigation assistance, and for housing and the Small Business Administration loan program.

Scott said there are also programs offered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Myers Beach that the town could tap into to build dune systems and rebuild dunes that have been lost. Scott said he would be working on making sure the federal agencies had the resources to help communities recover from Hurricane Helene.

Scott met with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, Congressman Byron Donalds, Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers, Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt and other local officials during his tour or Fort Myers Beach Sunday.

"This was just a devastating storm for our state," Scott said.

"While Hurricane Helene made landfall hundreds of miles north of Lee County in the Big Bend, communities here still experienced feet of devastating storm surge that caused significant damage to homes and businesses," Scott said. "Many folks are still recovering from Hurricane Ian and Helene has only made that work more difficult."

During a press conference Sunday on Fort Myers Beach, Scott spoke about how many storms have been hitting Florida in recent years.

"We all watched, and we said 'Oh it's a category 1 that doesn't sound very bad and now it's a category 3.' It's really not the categories anymore. The wind is not what's killing us. It's the water that's killing us. It just comes in a wave," Scott said.

Scott also said Fort Myers Beach was "resilient" and that it was important for local restaurants and tourist spots to continue getting tourists back to protect jobs.

"My heart goes out to all the Floridians impacted by this storm and I'm working every day with local, state, and federal partners, like FEMA and the Small Business Administration to coordinate resources and direct assistance to those in need," Scott said. "Floridians are resilient, and while so many families are facing unimaginable loss, I will stand alongside them every step of the way as they recover, and I will fight for every federal resource they need to do so."

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, who spoke at a press conference on Fort Myers Beach with Sen. Scott, said his department responded to more than 100 calls during Hurricane Helene countywide. That included a rescue operation on Fort Myers Beach in which deputies went through knee-high water on rescue boats through streets that had flooded from San Carlos Boulevard to Estero Boulevard.

After Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Saturday urging his immediate approval of a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Florida, President Biden approved the request. This Major Disaster Declaration approval follows last week's approval of the State of Florida's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration.

Scott urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to immediately reconvene the Senate and vote on a Hurricane Helene supplemental aid package once FEMA and local and state officials determine the funding need.

"What I have seen, from the catastrophic damage in Cedar Key, to the massive destruction caused by unprecedented storm surge in communities from Fort Myers Beach to Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island and north to Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties is heartbreaking. News reports of the devastation in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other communities impacted by Hurricane Helene are also devastating. Floridians are resilient, but the response and recovery from this storm demands the full and immediate support of government at every level to get families and businesses back to normal."

Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Dan Allers said "this is the third storm after Ian." Allers said islanders "understand there are consequences sometimes to thing that are outside of your control. Mother Nature can be very mean and very unpredictable."

Allers said his heart went out to those in northern Florida, Georgia and North Carolina dealing with tougher circumstances after Hurricane Helene. "We're dealing with sand," Allers said.

"We will be there to support them like they were there to support us. We will reach out to you to see if there is anything you need," Allers said.

Atterholt said he and other town officials pointed out to Scott and Donalds "the various cleanup efforts and discuss longer term infrastructure needs, like storm water drainage, that may require federal help."