Hurricane Irma did not cause too much damage to housing but the waterways themselves are another story in Punta Gorda Isles. Historically, the city uses a local contractor to keep up with seawall replacement on an as needed basis and on a ranking system which identifies seawalls that are likely to have problems in the future. This hurricane unfortunately expedited and identified any weak seawall with many collapsing or suffering a wide variety of damage.
Why Did The Seawalls Fail in Punta Gorda Isles?
The biggest concern weather forecasters predicted was a large surge tide which was to come well over the seawalls and into the houses. This has never happened before! No water has gotten into houses from rising waters. What did happen in this hurricane and hurricane Charlie is that the hurricane caused a short duration extreme outgoing tide situation that left no water pressure on the water side. The lack of hydrostatic pressure on the waterside, combined with the natural landbased pressure allowed the weaker seawalls to crack or literally break off or fall into the canal.
The city has identifed nearly 900 seawalls that need repaired or replaced. The affected seawalls occured in the sailboat home sections as well as the power boat. I personally drove my boat into the canal that takes you to the Isles Yacht Club and quickly observed many seawalls that had problems.
PGI residents pay a fee in their taxes which covers seawall repairs and canal maintenance in general. I have yet to hear how much is in the “kitty” for these repairs but the city has solicited FEMA for financial help. One of my customers has already found the city taping off the back of his house and put up a silt fence. He has no idea when his seawall work will begin but that is a very good sign for him and quick service by the city.
For anyone wanting to live the dream of having a sailboat at your own down or a cruiser, now will be a good time to make a deal……..especially if there is a seawall issue. At least, that is what I am thinking at the moment. We can certainly protect you in the purchase of a home by having the seller escrow sufficient funds to cover any costs that you might incur after the sale. If the city picks up the whole tab then the money is refunded to the seller but escrowing money will protect my customers from unexpected costs associated with this situation.
