Fort Myers

Flooding, storm surge, devastation ... Images from social show damage in Fort Myers area from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm.

in Fort Myers Beach To help us continue keeping you informed, Social media posts are capturing the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Ian, which made landfall near Cayo Costa on Sept.

One mom of two is desperately searching for her own mother after seeing her mom's Fort Myers house under water after Hurricane Ian hit Florida.

"Once I see her again, I'll be able to breathe." "She was trying to find this whistle she had for her dog who passed away in August and the phone cut out," Booker said. "It's been really beautiful to see her embrace that grandmother role, finally, with my kids." She told her mother that if the worst were to happen, she needed to get to the highest point of the home — the roof — and use the whistle to signal for help. "I feel like I've done everything I possibly can by continuing to share her story online and trying to reach out to every rescue organization. “I used to call her mom all the time anyways because my birth mother wasn’t in the picture. "We're Florida people so we're crazy," she explained. "At one point it rang twice then went to voicemail, so I'm assuming her phone is off," she explained. "She sent me a bunch of random photos and videos, and she's 78 so sometimes her finger was in them. She didn't evacuate because the storm was initially heading toward Tampa and we honestly didn't think it was going to be as catastrophic as it has been." Booker was talking to her mother as Ian descended upon Florida and the storm surge hit Fort Myers. Booker was fielding requests from friends, asking if her mother would feel comfortable taking photos and videos to show the world Ian's devastation.

Mayor Kevin B. Anderson of Fort Myers watched helplessly from his condo on Wednesday as Hurricane Ian pushed ashore and water from the Caloosahatchee River ...

Anderson, a resident since the mid-1970s, said he had never experienced such a strong storm. A hospital was without power and water and had to transfer some patients to another hospital in Naples, he said. One pizza place, he said, stayed up all night cleaning and, by lunchtime, had a line out the door of people willing to wait an hour for a hot pie.

DailyMail.com arrived in Fort Myers Thursday morning to find desperate locals begging for help as they returned to their homes to survey the destruction of ...

They ended up clinging to an exterior wall for dear life. Ten minutes later it was up to two feet. Water began trickling into the one-story, Iona home around 8am. 'When the winds came there wasn't much protection. 'We have physically challenged people here, others with dementia. Residents of Sunshine Mobile Village returned to find the majority of the 180 mobile homes destroyed My car is even under water' - Residents of Sunshine Mobile Village returned to find the majority of the 180 mobile homes destroyed They returned Thursday to find the majority of the 180 mobile homes completely beyond salvage. DailyMail.com arrived in Fort Myers Thursday morning to find desperate locals begging for help as they returned home to begin the grim job of salvaging possessions and securing their water-ravaged properties. - 'I've lost every damn thing I own,' said 93-year-old retiree Tom Hinkle. - DailyMail.com arrived in Fort Myers, Florida, Thursday morning to find desperate locals begging for help as they returned to their homes to survey the destruction of Hurricane Ian

It was a lot windier and worse than we expected it to be. The ride from the marina to the mangroves was very unexpected.”

Said Bob: “It was a bit of a ride. “It stays you go up.” “It was a lot windier and worse than we expected it to be. Charlene and Bob stood outside in the sunshine. “It was a rough go,” said Charlene, 59. The boat cracked and creaked as it slammed into mangroves and debris like bumper cars.

As Hurricane Ian was unleashing its force in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon, William Russell and Ron Shepperd said they were on the second ...

News and updates from Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 on Hurricane Ian's aftermath in Fort Myers and Lee County.

Sanibel Causeway, Pine Island bridge damaged from storm, DeSantis says] [The causeway to Sanibel Island and the Pine Island bridge are not passible and are in need of structural rebuilds, Gov. If two vehicles reach the intersection at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. Search, rescue efforts underway in Lee County] [The Lee County Sheriff's Office said early Thursday that it has commenced search and rescue efforts for those stranded by Hurricane Ian.] ["Our Mobile Command Center is ready to respond and assist with search and rescue along with our other assets. The only safe way to connect a portable electric generator to your existing wiring is to have a licensed electrical contractor install a transfer switch. They should not be stored in a garage if a fuel-burning appliance is in the garage. LCSO says jail inmates safe following Ian] [The Lee County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday night that inmates in the Lee County Jail facilities are safe.] A generator that is directly connected to your home’s wiring can ‘back feed’ onto the power lines connected to your home. Crews are still assessing the stretch of I-75 in Lee County. She watched her neighbors wade to and from their homes, hoping to salvage something from the deluge.] Lee County closed bridge between Fort Myers and Bonita beaches] [Lee County Department of Transportation is closing Big Hickory Pass Bridge due to damage from Hurricane Ian.] [The closure of the bridge, which is on the south end of Estero Island between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, is effective immediately.] [During a bridge inspection today, engineers identified deficiencies, leading to the closure. South Fort Myers: Water is knee-deep] [Joy McCormack stood across the road from Davis Street, a stretch of mobile homes, town houses and condos in the Iona area of south Fort Myers, now completely covered in knee-deep flood waters. ] ["In all these years in Lee County I have not seen damage like this from a storm like this," Lee County Manager Roger Dejarlais said.

The death toll from Tropical Storm Ian remained unclear early Thursday after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said it brought “historic” damage to the state, ...

Smith/AFP/Getty Images Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images The death toll from Tropical Storm Ian remained unclear early Thursday after Florida Gov.

The video, which went viral instantly, was allegedly shot in the Devonwood neighborhood of Fort Myers, Florida.

[Brad Habuda](https://twitter.com/bradhabuda/status/1575185864069566466), who was credited in one of the most viral tweets as the source of the video. If anyone has a tip or a clue to share regarding what has been dubbed the “Fort Myers street shark,” please contact us. Habuda told us ( [as well as his followers](https://twitter.com/BradHabuda/status/1575244837577793536)) that the footage was shot by a person named “Ed Bell” in Devonwood, a Fort Myers neighborhood. I will be letting him know all those who have contacted me about the rights once he is safe.” There are no further details about the friend in that account, including whether he is the same person mentioned above, “Ed Bell.” “Ok, I see everybody is wondering if this is the real deal or not,” @TruthsBeTold [image fakery](https://www.snopes.com/collections/fake-hurricane-photographs/) on the internet during major hurricanes, were skeptical.

Aerial photos from the Fort Myers area, a few miles west of where Ian struck land, showed homes ripped from their slabs and deposited in a jumble among shredded ...

See areas around Fort Myers and Florida's southwest coast that experienced dangerous storm surges and extensive flooding.

Officials are still working to assess the extent of damage caused by the storm and its subsequent floods, as reports emerge of destroyed homes, damaged power lines and disrupted water supplies. [the Sanibel Causeway](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/sanibel-island-causeway-hurricane-ian.html) and Pine Island Bridge, which connect the mainland to two barrier islands near Fort Myers. Ron DeSantis said that both bridges would require “structural rebuilds.” A spokesperson for the Coast Guard confirmed that crews flew over Sanibel Island on Thursday to airlift some people to safety. Video footage showed storm surges in Fort Myers Beach nearly reaching the roofs of some one-story homes. Island The city is also responding to fires and extensive flooding; some areas are under three to four feet of water.

Thursday morning daylight revealed the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Lee County where the Category 4 storm made landfall Wednesday in Cayo Costa.

The historic T-shaped pier was gone. The walls of several collapsed. Clothes spilled out of what was left of a closet. The Caloosahatchee River flooded the city of Fort Myers and the water flooded hotels and restaurants in the Main Street and Broadway area, near the Old Lee County courthouse. Toiletries were scattered on the grass. The piece of a roof covered a couch.

A woman was on her knees on the side of the road assembling a chainsaw, next to a blue pickup truck with large wheels, on Thursday in Fort Myers.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and the Fort Myers Police Department asked anyone who is concerned about their family’s safety in the area to call 239-321-7700. – A woman was on her knees on the side of the road assembling a chainsaw, next to a blue pickup truck with large wheels, on Thursday in Fort Myers. FORT MYERS, Fla.

Hurricane Ian sent 150 mph winds and a towering storm surge tearing through the town of Fort Myers Beach in Florida.

Sheriff’s deputies blocked access to Estero Island, saying the bridge was unsafe to cross. From there, they had a front row view of the chaos. “Fort Myers Beach is gone.” Mitch and Mike sheltered on the third floor of the Estero Island Beach Club, where Mike worked. “The whole entire Times Square is gone. The Whale’s gone.

The island is like somebody took an atom bomb and dropped it,” one resident said surveying the destruction in Southwest Florida.

So, in the thick of the storm, they took sleeping pills to ease their panic. Her boss offered a place to stay in Cape Coral, but it was just a single-story. Another captain Sean Adler, of Estero, walked around looking at the damage. The surge was tinted muddy brown. Just before the last bridge to Fort Myers Beach, Max Lopez-Figueroa, 28, and his wife, Zhenia, 30, had planned to huddle in their second-floor condo during the hurricane. But the inside of their unit turned out mostly OK. Kimble, 48, tied a hammer to a rope and stepped onto an exterior staircase, trying to hook a kayak for their escape. Ian blew out all the shop’s windows, and most of the tile inside, too. Campbell walked through town with a colleague Thursday, surveying the damage and shutting off gas lines. Behen soon stumbled upon another man, who said he’d ridden his roof through the flood to shelter, slept on a porch, and feared his roommate and two others were dead. Beer bottles and kegs spilled out from shattered bars like confetti, and Winds — the beach souvenir shack near the northern edge of town — was a husk. The surge licked the second-floor deck.

On Thursday, the city was reeling from the storm, among the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States. Wind speeds topped 150 miles per ...

“The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event.” “The aftermath of this storm is catastrophic,” the Lee Country Sheriff’s Office, which covers the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, reported. [Some homes appeared](https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920?s=20&t=9RKgIaDOQSsTtYVM618u0g) to be lifted off their foundations by the rush of water. Pictures from JetBlue Park showed the padding that lines the stadium walls was “all gone,” according to Cora. In some areas, the hurricane generated a storm surge over 10 feet high. On Thursday, the city was reeling from the storm, among the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States.

Hurricane Ian's wind, rain and storm surge has caused at least a dozen deaths, flooded homes, left millions without power and flattened businesses.

The Lee County Sheriffs Office is mobile and will stop at nothing to help our residents. People who live in Fort Myers are now in search of food, basic necessities, gas, and other things they lost in the storm. Now, people who live there are assessing the damage, and preparing to rebuild what Ian destroyed.

It's one of several barrier islands in southwest Florida that were hit hardest by Ian's wrath.

The bridge that connects Pine Island to the Florida’s mainland is also impassable, DeSantis said. Two other storm deaths were reported in Cuba. Boats are slammed on shore, and a huge chunk of a pier is missing. The U.S. [Hurricane Ian.](https://www.fox13news.com/tag/weather/hurricanes/hurricane-ian) [Lee County](https://www.fox13news.com/weather/hurricane-ian-storm-surge-damage-fort-myers-naples-southwest-florida) shows debris littered everywhere and buildings reduced to piles of rubble.

Doug Listin told CBS4 he stayed on his boat the entire time. At one point, he said the storm surge was so high it was over the roofs of buildings. Listin said, ...

I ended up on the restaurant next door with my boat." I don't know how to take it." Listin said, "I ended up myself and the guy in that sailboat..

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — On the road into Fort Myers Beach, cars are left abandoned in the roadway, where they stalled when Hurricane Ian's storm surge ...

“It was literally like being in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico,” Siefert said. “That’s how I pay the bills and survive,” he said. “And for the most part it did. Despite the interior staying relatively free from water, Siefert said fear and uncertainty prompted him to lift his disabled wife onto a dresser. Siefert’s home is more than a block from the beach and about 6 feet (2 meters) above sea level, he estimated. Rescue workers were taking equipment over to the island on small boats and bringing people back, a half-dozen or so at a time. “It must have been a strong storm,” said Robert Leisure, who has owned the marina for two years. “We had a Tiki hut over there,” he said, pointing to an empty spot. “I own the land, but I’ll have to scrap the trailer,” said Goodison, a carpenter. The surge also blasted the walls off the marina’s offices and flattened its second floor. “But you’ve got to have some place to live.” But his furniture and family mementoes were gone, submerged when a 5-foot (1.5-meter) surge of water plowed across the 60-home community of retirees and working people.

Kinfay Moroti, a Fort Myers photographer, found power, hopelessness and hope in a variety of images taken following the deadly passage of Hurricane Ian in ...

Lonnie Garretson cries on Thursday (9/29/2022) upon seeing damage to mobile homes and flooding in Suncoast Estates in North Fort Myers. 13 of 13 — Hurricane Ian Fort Myers Trailer 5.jpg Hundreds of families in Suncoast have been displaced by the hurricane. "This gown is all I have," said Schuster, as she and Whitlock walked back to the mobile home they were rescued from during Hurricane Ian. "The dream is gone," Grey said of losing his house boat. James Grey looks for his house baot on Thursday (9/29/22) along the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers, Flrodia.

A chunk of the causeway connecting Sanibel Island to Florida's mainland had fallen into the sea Wednesday, cutting off access to the barrier island.

Stan Pentz heard the boom of the stormwater rushing into his Iona Ranch mobile home in Fort Myers on Wednesday loud and clear. The cities and towns there were some of the first areas to receive a lashing from the storm. He said efforts were underway to bring those who remained on the island to safety. Mitch and Mike Stough sheltered on the third floor of the Estero Island Beach Club, where Mike worked. Residents, looking shell-shocked, began the monumental task of cleaning up, picking up pieces of debris from their lawns. Sheriff’s deputies blocked access to Estero Island, saying the bridge was unsafe to cross. Closer to the Matanzas Pass Bridge, entire marina buildings were shattered, wooden docks twisted and splintered. Waves poured over Estero Boulevard, demolishing the lower floors of buildings and carrying away vehicles, they said. From there, they had a front-row view of the chaos. The town has a population of nearly 6,000. Other areas of the state are still seeing heavy rains and haven't broken free of Ian's grip yet. She wondered how her home in the nearby Iona Ranch mobile home had fared after

By the time 24 hours had passed since Ian made landfall, people in Fort Myers were cleaning up the mess Ian made to their homes and businesses, ...

She has been through a few hurricanes, “but it’s never been this bad,” she said. Compared with Charley, the worst of it was all of 45 minutes, Poling said. The tops of those that still stood appeared almost pruned by the force of Ian’s winds. He suspects he’ll have to get a new roof, and the power at his home hasn’t been restored. Dozens of boats had been pushed onto shore at Joe’s Crab Shack, as if a broom had swept up toys. That’s part of the deal.” But first, she and her family stopped by the business that her husband managed, Ford’s Garage. Much of the water had receded in downtown Fort Myers by Thursday afternoon. At First Street Restaurant & Pub, Del Poling sat outside drinking a beer with his family. He and his neighbors spent the morning after Hurricane Ian picking up debris from the road before county crews swept through. From what she heard, her roof and patio iare damaged. “It just sounded like thunder all night long.

This was a city Thursday where yachts were parked on the street and hundreds of cars were underwater, thanks to Hurricane Ian and its deadly and ...

Francisco said he was grateful that his family made it through the storm intact and still had running water, food and electricity. "I was in the police department for almost 25 years, saw a lot of storms here. This is by far the worst storm I have ever witnessed." "Our boat is done," said 23-year-old Addie Maynard, who until Ian intruded Wednesday had been living on a 34-foot yacht with her boyfriend at the Old Bridge Marina in North Fort Myers. "I'm just wondering how you clean up," Stough said. And at the few gas stations that reopened, there were long lines of motorists waiting to fill up.

Thursday morning daylight revealed the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Lee County where the Category 4 storm made landfall Wednesday in Cayo Costa.

The storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico flooded Fort Myers Beach and scattered debris. The U.S. It was just between the moving cars that were traveling on the Tamiami Trail. Ian’s havoc in Fort Myers included an empty white refrigerator on the grass over a median. State officials reported there were at least nine hurricane-related deaths and they expected the death toll to increase. – Nicholas Bethke said he and his girlfriend held on to their recreational vehicle’s roof with their dog after the storm surge got up to their heads Wednesday.

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Fort Myers, Fla., resident Bobby Pratt about the damage Hurricane Ian had on his town.

Like I said, I went to the beach, and the beach is the place that me and my friends - we definitely spent a lot of our time there. As I went to the beach, as I drove over the bridge, I could see that our fishing pier that had stormed - that was completely gone. So, yeah, a lot of the places that me and my friends and family frequented are just gone. I could just see that it was going to be bad - worse than I could have ever thought it was. And we don't have shutters or anything up on our windows, so we were just praying that none of the debris was going to hit our house and break any of our windows or damage our house severely. As I was in the downtown area of Fort Myers, I saw boats in the streets. That's pretty much all the damage that is to our house. And as I said, our roof - the tiles are coming off the roof. We have a fence in our backyard that's pretty much completely - it was destroyed by the wind. I mean, it was just - it was destroying things around me. And as the storm grew closer, it changed and it made landfall here. We had - the wind was crazy.

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Fort Myers, Fla., resident Bobby Pratt about the damage Hurricane Ian had on his town.

Like I said, I went to the beach, and the beach is the place that me and my friends - we definitely spent a lot of our time there. As I went to the beach, as I drove over the bridge, I could see that our fishing pier that had stormed - that was completely gone. So, yeah, a lot of the places that me and my friends and family frequented are just gone. I could just see that it was going to be bad - worse than I could have ever thought it was. And we don't have shutters or anything up on our windows, so we were just praying that none of the debris was going to hit our house and break any of our windows or damage our house severely. As I was in the downtown area of Fort Myers, I saw boats in the streets. That's pretty much all the damage that is to our house. And as I said, our roof - the tiles are coming off the roof. We have a fence in our backyard that's pretty much completely - it was destroyed by the wind. I mean, it was just - it was destroying things around me. And as the storm grew closer, it changed and it made landfall here. We had - the wind was crazy.

Aerial photos from the Fort Myers area, a few miles west of where Ian struck land, showed homes ripped from their slabs and deposited in a jumble among shredded ...

A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew from Air Station Miami conducted overflights around the Fort Meyers, Fla., area on Sept. 29, the morning after Category 4 ...

If you need help, call 911 or use Ch. [#HurricaneIan], do not use social media to call for help! Some of the things crews look out for are people in distress, scope of damage, and potential pollution.

After Hurricane Ian passed through Southwest Florida Wednesday, residents in Fort Myers emerged from shelter to deal with the aftermath of the storm.

Hurricane Ian left a trail of damage in Fort Myers Beach on September 29, after the storm ripped through Florida as a Category 4.Video filmed by 606 Storm ...

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The Lighthouse Island Resort Inn and Suites wrote, Sadly the landscape of Ft Myers Beach has been changed forever by this latest Storm named Ian. The Lighthouse ...

[wrote](https://www.facebook.com/TheLighthouseIslandResort/posts/pfbid0L6jyQKC7xSBK1bX4ixiNZgUeu989wBaZn2ZRdQmGuvcaA6VHzrpFh6gocJaevsG4l), Sadly the landscape of Ft Myers Beach has been changed forever by this latest Storm named Ian. The resort said, "We have several staff members that did not evacuate who are not accounted for at this time." The report's webcam