Milton fills Florida homes with sand after storm surge hits coastal town

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – Residents of Bonita Springs, Florida are returning home to find their homes and neighborhoods buried under feet of sand, an unwanted parting gift from the Gulf of Mexico storm surge at the hands of Hurricane Milton.

A marker along the nearby Caloosahatchee River shows the area had storm surges of just over 5 feet, which brought salt water and sand into many neighborhoods.

Roads in Bonita Springs were closed due to sand making them impassable.

(Brandy Campbell/FOX Weather)

FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell showed homes with up to 3 to 4 feet of sand piled up inside, along with roads covered in feet of sand and sea shells.

Residents and contractors hoping to begin repairs must walk into neighborhoods instead of driving.

Campbell walks on a pile of sand inside a house in Bonita Springs.

(Brandy Campbell/FOX Weather)

“It’s something you don’t always think about,” Campbell said. “You think about a storm surge. You think about the water coming in, but you don’t always think about what’s left behind once the water comes back.”

He spoke with Calusa Construction contractor Scott Roshak about his team’s efforts to clean up the neighborhood, especially when they cleaned up the area after Hurricane Helene’s surge flooded the area two weeks ago.

Sand in the home.

(Brandy Campbell/FOX Weather)

“We just cleaned this (house), finished it earlier this week, everything was completed,” Roshak said. “The driveway was cleaned down to the pavers. And now we have another 3 or 4 feet of sand to clean off the entire driveway. And now another 3 or 4 feet of sand that was in the garage now.. . many boys with forced labor: shovels and wheelbarrows.”

But with predictions of up to 12 feet of storm surge; Roshak realizes it could have been worse.

“Indirectly, it’s … thankful that nothing worse happened,” he said.

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