MATLACHA, Fla. — Matlacha residents are growing anxious, waiting to hear if they can rebuild along Pine Island Road.
Many in this tight-knit community are wondering what happens next.
“We were up here at 12:30 that night when the water started to recede,” Casey Streeter, the owner of Island Seafood Market on Matlacha said. “When we walked in we had a spotlight. It looked like the road was gone. When we shined the spotlight it looked like most of Matlacha was gone.”
Now houses are washed away and sunken into the water. Many have questions as they finish cleaning up, and before they can rebuild.
“For most people here, we are all having to make decisions and there are alot of variables, with stuff that we are not common to, you know,” Whitney Hall, a resident said.
There are worries that the damage along the waterways will not allow for rebuilding.
“Rumbles of the fear that the Army Corps of Engineers are saying hey, water is reclaiming the land — you can’t come back, so I mean there is a lot of uncertainty,” Streeter said. “Many speculations and not much information.”
The landscape on the island has changed forever, but the overall goal is the same.
“We want Matlacha to come back to as close as what it was before because it’s a unique place,” Streeter said. “I’ve been around the state and I’ve been around the gulf. Matlacha is one of a kind.”
But where do these residents start?
“The clear message is that 80% of the debris will have to be cleaned out before we can start that rebuild and the rate of that is concerning,” Streeter said.
And is there a state or local agency to help the clean-up?
“Until we get those answers, you can’t make a decision on the next move in your life,” Hall said.
NBC2 reached out to Lee County, they said the state is taking the lead on waterway cleanup.
Here is their full statement:
“The state is taking the lead on waterway cleanup. You can email them at: media@em.myflorida.com“
We reached out to the state on Wednesday and did not hear back just yet for a cleanup timeline.
Lee County is accepting applications from private and commercial property owners who would like assistance for the assessment and removal of qualifying debris. That includes vehicles, vessels, and houses. FEMA is accepting applications for property displaced from Ian as well.
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