📞 (813) 730-8940
📞 (813) 730-8940
Arcadia sits on the Peace River roughly 40 to 50 miles inland from the Gulf Coast, and during Hurricane Ian in September 2022, the river crested at more than 25 feet, breaking a flood record of 25 feet that had stood since 1912, by several inches, after the area received approximately 20 inches of rainfall from the slow-moving storm. This represented nearly 5 feet more flooding than Hurricane Irma produced at the same location in 2017. A USGS gauge at SR-70 in Arcadia recorded the highest measurement in over 91 years of record-keeping. As many as 2,000 homes and at least 100 occupied RVs were flooded, with the Peace River Campground, where about 150 people lived year-round, completely submerged, and DeSoto County Commissioner J.C. Deriso personally using his airboat to rescue survivors stranded on what the flooding had turned into newly created islands. We are a Florida state-licensed mold remediation team.
Arcadia's experience during Hurricane Ian in September 2022 produced one of the most dramatic flood records in modern Florida history. Despite being located roughly 40 to 50 miles inland from the Gulf Coast, where the most severe storm surge devastation occurred, Arcadia found itself at the center of catastrophic river flooding after the slow-moving storm dumped approximately 20 inches of rainfall on the area, half a year's typical annual rainfall delivered in mere hours. The Peace River, which the area receives an average of about 51 inches of rain annually, responded by cresting at more than 25 feet, breaking the previous flood record of 25 feet that had stood since 1912, by several inches. This flooding exceeded what Hurricane Irma had produced at the same location in 2017 by nearly 5 feet, illustrating just how exceptional Ian's rainfall impact was for this specific inland community.
The U.S. Geological Survey's own emergency monitoring documentation captured the historic nature of this event in technical terms, the gauge at SR-70 in Arcadia recorded the highest measurement in over 91 years of record keeping, while field personnel working to measure conditions across the broader Peace River basin found that 11 of their measurements represented period-of-record maximums, with 4 of those more than doubling the previous high measurement. This kind of dramatic exceedance of historical maximums across multiple monitoring points reflects an event of genuinely exceptional magnitude for the region's hydrology.
The human impact matched this historic technical severity. As many as 2,000 homes and at least 100 occupied RVs were flooded, with the Peace River Campground, home to approximately 150 year-round residents, completely submerged. DeSoto County Commissioner J.C. Deriso personally used his own airboat to navigate what NPR described as newly created islands, rescuing stranded survivors. Local business owner Enrique Sánchez, whose painting business and machine shop normally sat about a tenth of a mile from the river's banks, lost all his equipment, telling reporters he never thought they would experience this kind of flooding. For Arcadia homeowners and business owners, particularly those whose properties experienced this documented, record-breaking flood event, professional mold inspection represents an essential step in recovery given the historic severity validated by over nine decades of USGS monitoring data.
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Most jobs range from $2,500 to $8,000. Properties near the Peace River corridor with documented record-breaking Hurricane Ian flood damage often fall in the $4,000 to $8,000 range given the historic severity, 5 feet beyond Irma's levels and breaking a 110-year record. Free on-site inspection and written estimate before any work begins.
A flood event that breaks a record standing since 1912, with USGS data showing the highest measurement in over 91 years at the local gauge, represents water levels and exposure duration far beyond what most properties in the area were designed or prepared to handle. This kind of historic severity typically means deeper water penetration into structures, longer saturation periods given how high above normal the water rose, and a greater likelihood that comprehensive moisture remediation, rather than just visible repair, was needed but possibly not fully completed given the overwhelming scale of damage across the community at the time. We strongly recommend comprehensive professional inspection for any Arcadia property affected by this specific event.
Ian's slow movement across Florida allowed it to dump approximately 20 inches of rainfall on the Arcadia area, an amount equivalent to roughly five months of the area's normal annual rainfall delivered within hours. This rainfall, combined with the Peace River's role in draining a large watershed area, meant that even though Arcadia avoided the direct coastal storm surge that devastated areas like Fort Myers Beach, the river-based flooding from this massive rainfall total produced arguably even more severe and longer-lasting impacts for this specific inland community, illustrating how hurricane risk isn't limited to coastal proximity.
Serving all of Arcadia including the Peace River corridor, downtown, the SR-70 bridge area, and all of DeSoto County. Same-day appointments available. 24/7 emergency response.