County commissioners declared a state of local emergency in Lee County Wednesday.

Several roads in North Fort Myers and one in Pine Island are getting emergency attention in the wake of severe flooding.

Rob Farmer, the Director of Lee County’s Division of Public Safety, said right now officials are dealing with flooding from heavy rains, which have inundated parts of the county.

In the past few days between 9 and 10 inches of rain has fallen in the area, making some unpaved roads inaccessible to emergency vehicles.

Farmer also said other areas of the county could face flooding within the next few days.

“What we are anticipating now over the next couple of days is that all of that water has to move somewhere and that sheet flow, because of the way it flows, can continue to be destructive,” he said.

Farmer said they are working on making the roads accessible for emergency vehicles only.

He said it’s up to individuals whether they want to drive their car through those flooded areas. Farmer advised that residents not allow children to play in the flood waters, though.

“Some of the water that we are seeing accumulating off the roadways in yards, culverts, and so forth, I would strongly advise people to not allow their children to play in those waters,” he said. “We have had reports around the county in some of these flooded areas of septic systems backing up, plus you have water washing through pastures with large animals in it. Needless to say, that water is not the cleanest.”

The county has also set up a shelter at the Lee County Civic Center for large animals—such as horses—in flooded pastures.