Residents who weathered Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm that ripped through Punta Gorda and Arcadia in 2004, said that Charley had nothing on Hurricane Ian!
As Floridians were deciding to either ride the storm out or evacuate, we prepared; boarding up the windows, ensuring adequate hurricane type supplies was plentiful and gassing up the vehicle just in case we had last minute thoughts to leave. I made sure I had the bathtub fill with water to flush toilets, plenty of ice in the freezer to keep the food cold in case of power outages and for the first time, an axe and saw, just in case I had to cut a hole in the roof to get out of my house due to storm surges, since I live on a canal.
The fastest winds recorded in the region was 124 mph on Wednesday in Punta Gorda shortly after Hurricane Ian made landfall. Later, 110 mph winds were recorded along the east side of Charlotte Harbor. Port
Charlotte sits across Charlotte Harbor from Punta Gorda.
Hurricane Ian's ferocious winds hit Port Charlotte with a vengeance and left a path of destruction trapping people in flooded homes and knocking out the power for millions. Ian left may buildings flattened and streets unpassable due to severe flooding and many with only the clothes on their backs!
I decided to return home to Port Charlotte on Thursday and face the challenges and destruction Ian had bestowed upon my town. The drive back was nerve wrenching to say the least but as I turned the corner of my street, I saw that while my house was mostly spared from this monster storm (roof shingles downed fence uprooted from the cement!) there were a lot of my neighbors who did not fare as well. A neighbor, who also evacuated, asked me to take photos of their home and text them so she could be mentally prepared on the trek back home. Her home had similar damages to mine. I changed my clothes and immediately began cleaning up the debris that had totally overtaken our small community.
While cleaning, you could hear the stream of fire truck and ambulance sirens and helicopters overhead responding to many residents who had to be rescued from their flooded and splintered homes by boat and by air. Rescuers continued to search for survivors in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The surge was extremely broad, so it pushed a great deal of water inland. The streets were turned into rivers and there were downed trees and powerlines everywhere.
More than two million Florida homes and business were left without electricity. But even as I cleaned up as much debris as possible, all you could see was a plethora of volunteer organizations helping with this massive cleanup and linemen from out of our area assisting with getting the electricity back on.
To date, the statewide storm related deaths in Florida (most due to drowning) is at 123:
Lee County (Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Lehigh Acres, Estero and Pine Island), the death toll is at 59
Charlotte County (Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Englewood), 24 deaths
Collier County (Marco Island, Naples and Golden Gate) is at 5 deaths.
May they rest in peace. Condolences to their families and prayers that their fond memories of their loved ones comfort them.
Ian has left a trail of destruction and a huge emotional toll on all that were affected by this horrific natural disaster. But WE WILL continue to clean up the messes, WE WILL navigate the bureaucracy for financial assistance, WE WILL maintain our stress levels while dealing with the insurance companies and WE WILL rebuild! Things may seem bleak for those whose homes and livelihoods were hit hard and displaced due to Ian but the big picture view is OUR communities WILL recover and WILL flourish again!
All the best,
GMarie
Links to donate food, household items or money:
To check on loved ones: 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767)
Salvation Army: https://www.salvationarmyusa.org
The Florida Disaster Fund: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/.
Feeding Florida: https://www.feedingflorida.org/florida-food-banks
Lost and displaced animals: https://www.humanesociety.org