The Magazine of The Sierra Club
Flooding, Devastation as Irma Leaves Florida Reeling
Photojournalist Bryan Anselm reports from areas hit hard by storm
Photos by Bryan Anselm/Redux
(Left) Linda Kaczmarek on her street in Bonita Springs, which was flooded by Hurricane Irma, on September 11. (Right) A collapsed parking structure in Fort Myers.
(Left) Maria Hernandez on the steps of her home in Barton on September 11. She's taking a break from cleaning debris off her driveway after Irma downed trees in the neighborhood. (Right) The interior wall of a home that was destroyed in Bonita Springs.
(Left) Michael Bevelaqua on South Collier Blvd., September 12, the morning after Irma passed over Marco Island. He was one of the few residents to remain on the island during the storm. (Right) A flooded street in Naples.
Debris and damage caused by Irma on Marco Island.
(Left) Magy and Moyes Hernandez play with branches that fell in their yard after Irma downed trees in Barton. (Right) Palm fronds on a flooded road on Marco Island.
(Left) A damaged stoplight in Naples, which was thrown onto the sidewalk by Irma's winds. (Right) A car crushed by a palm tree after Irma passed over Marco Island.
A flooded road on Marco Island.
(Left) Francisco Perez takes a break from cleaning debris off his driveway in Barton. (Right) A boat on Marco Island that was damaged and thrown.
(Left) A Burlington Coat Factory in Naples that flooded after Irma. (Right) A downed tree in front of a boarded home in Barton.
A flooded road on Marco Island.
Bryan Anselm is a freelance photographer based in New York whose work focuses on human rights and forced migration, in addition to post-conflict recovery in sub-Saharan Africa. He traveled to Florida to report on the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. In this slideshow, he documents just how vulnerable South Florida communities have become to the flooding and devastation from monster hurricanes. Upwards of 75 percent of the people in South Florida live along the coast. As they pick up the pieces left behind by this record-breaking storm, questions remain about the extent of the destruction, and an uncertain future.
—Sierra