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Sarasota County to begin assessing drainage near flooded neighborhood after Debby

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Published  August 19, 2024 6:04am EDT
Sarasota County
FOX 13 News

Laurel Meadows still recovering from Debby

Neighborhoods in the Sarasota area, including Laurel Meadows, are asking for answers two weeks after record rainfall from Debby brought severe flooding.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Sarasota County crews will begin draining and looking into two pipes near the Laurel Meadows neighborhood following flooding from Debby.

"As a family, we are struggling to get through it like everybody else. Our kids are taking it very, very hard. It was a very tough time showing them what happened here and seeing their whole life literally being curbside at this point. Just hauled out like it’s nothing and put for the garbage truck to pick up," said Jeffrey Schermerhorn.

Jeffrey and Tara Schermerhorn had just remodeled their Laurel Meadows home, turning it into their dream home. After flooding following Debby, it’s a shell of what it once was.

Four feet of dry wall had to be cut out and fans are working to dry it out.

"That has never been an issue. We’ve had days’ worth of rain and it’s never been an issue," said Jeffrey.

Jeffrey and his wife, like many in the neighborhood, want answers. Sarasota County said they are trying.

"We are still evaluating the drainage system in this area to determine if there were any contributing factors that we can point to that led to any of the excessive flooding in this area," said Public Works Director Spencer Anderson.

On Monday morning, county crews will begin to berm off and de-water two 48-inch pipes near their neighborhood. Sarasota County said if rain or another storm is forecast to come through, they will pull the berms immediately to prevent further flooding.

"We really want to find out if these pipes have anything wrong with them. They’re about 150 feet long," said Anderson.

Tara waits for what they will find, as her family and neighbors continue to live through this.

"We are still in hurricane season. We are in the thick of it. August from September to October, how do we know this won’t happen again or down the road next time? We want them to give us an answer and then we want them to help us. Because when we asked for help when our houses were going up in water, even when the storm passed, they did absolutely nothing. No one came. We asked for sandbags, and they didn’t have any," she said.

Each homeowner’s future is uncertain as they work to navigate each day ahead.

"It’s very difficult. It’s more than what we bargained for when we moved in here," said Jeffrey.

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