'It's indescribable:' Sarasota neighborhood turned into a swamp by Tropical Storm Debby

SARASOTA, Fla. - Days after Tropical Storm Debby roared past Sarasota, residents of several communities were left putting together the pieces of homes and neighborhoods wreaked with flooding.

"It’s indescribable," on Tuesday, Melissa Wells was getting a first look at her neighborhood, Sherwood Forest, drenched by Debby. 

READ: Olympic medalist Stephen Nedoroscik comes home to Sarasota: 'It's unbelievable'

Neighbors at Sherwood Forest were still underwater on Tuesday.

Melissa Wells

Wells said the water had receded about two feet, but there were at least two to three feet left, making the suburban streets look more like a swamp, surrounding homes like a moat.

"It was unbelievable in all the years I lived here, 20 plus years, not even a fraction of this (flooding)" said Wells.

On Sunday, the water rose by feet, then crept up to mere inches from getting indoors. 

"We were measuring it every half an hour to just say ‘please please don’t come any closer,’" Wells said. "It was really scary there for a while."

Their cars didn’t fare as well with many cars destroyed by rising waters these homeowners didn’t expect to have. 

It’s a similar story for many Sarasota neighborhoods, facing flooding for the first time in decades due to Debby.

"That’s the concerning part; we’ve had plenty of rain we’ve had plenty of flooding but nothing at this level," she said. "If this is what we are going to have to expect, I don’t know what to do."

Throughout Sarasota, emergency crews continued to move people from their homes to higher ground.

Wells and many of her neighbors are sticking it out, hoping the swamp will disappear with drier days ahead.

"If we don’t get out tomorrow, we will ask friends to drop off some food," said Wells.

Many roads around Sarasota remain closed. The county has an active map showing impacted areas and which streets are still submerged. 

There is also a crisis clean-up hotline for those who need help with those efforts.

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