CAPE CORAL, Florida — Many areas of southwest Florida are cleaning up after the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. But some places, like Cape Coral’s Surfside neighborhood, are still blocked by debris as residents wait to escape.
Power lines and poles fell like dominoes along Surfside Boulevard in the southwestern Cape, some on trees along the road.
City of Cape Coral officials and public works are working to clear up the clutter around town and have already cleared 3,000 lane miles. They are asking residents to call 800-451-1954 to report roadblocks and damage.
“It was like a river running through the houses,” said Charles Poretta, who lives along Surfside, describing the damage left by flooding the streets during the hurricane.
The whole lot there was completely covered. It was like the ocean,” said neighbor Tony. “The water has risen to the stop sign there.”
For three days Tony has been cleaning the palms and tree branches along the street.
“I want to go because there are a lot of trees behind me,” he said. “We had more shingles on the lawn than on the roof.”
“I can see my neighbor Tony cleaning up right now,” said Mike Striebel, another of his neighbors. He says the cleanup efforts bring the community together. We are working hard and trying to stay resilient.”
Power lines run through the streets, so most of the neighboring houses are still dark. Some homes are lucky to have a generator.
“I have a generator, but it looks like it’s almost out of gas,” said Tony. “I just want to know when the power will be restored.”
He expects the line to run on generator power until it clears the ground and returns to the air.
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