Cape Sable Lakes residents clean up damage left behind by storms

EAST NAPLES, Fla.- Residents in the Cape Sable Lakes community off Radio Road are still cleaning up the mess left behind from Tuesday’s storms.

Contractors and county workers surveyed the damage Wednesday after heavy wind and rain ripped the roof off some homes and left mailboxes strewn on the ground.

“I’m afraid if it rains too much more before they can cover it, that this is likely to fall in. And then I’m really gonna have a mess,” said Joyce Talvacchio.

Brown stains now line Talvacchio’s ceiling inside her home, caused by the water damage from her roof peeling off.

“When I got around the house, I saw part of the roof, the rubber roof, hanging over,” said Talvacchio, adding that she wasn’t home when the storm hit.

A nearby home wound up in worse condition, with the roof splitting into two pieces. A tarp now covers part of the mobile home to prevent any more water damage.

“She has no insurance,” said Talvaccio of her neighbor. “I’m glad right now that I do.”

“I’ve been doing this for 45 years and, you know, I’ve kinda seen it all. This is shocking right here though, to see this happen,” said John Finnerty, a manager with AMS, a contracting company specializing in mobile homes.

Finnerty stopped by the community to check out the damage left behind.

“In that land behind you, is a 15 foot carport that flew from somewhere. Not from this house,” said Finnerty.

Talvacchio is still waiting on her insurance company to take a look at her roof so it can get covered as soon as possible.