Ryan Cavanaugh and Sara Cavanaugh on Miramar Street.Photo by Nathan Mayburg
The torrent of devastation left by Hurricane Ian on Fort Myers Beach is an unfathomable devastation that humans are not programmed to handle or understand.
All residents of Fort Myers Beach have been affected, one week after the island was closed by the Fire Department and National Urban Search and Rescue to allow for search and rescue operations, and 11 days after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Fort. I was finally able to go home on Sunday. Myers Beach.
Returning residents were still processing the shock of the magnitude of the storm.
“Send help” Miramar Street resident Steve Martin said:
All buildings in Fort Myers Beach were damaged by Category 4 Hurricane Ian, which killed more than 50 people in Lee County and more than 100 statewide. Exact figures for Fort Myers Beach have yet to be announced. More numbers arrive down the road, including the number of homes destroyed, the extent of property damage, but the buildings are intact and it’s safe to say that Fort Myers Beach will never be the same. It takes months to get up and years to recover.
Residents of Miramar Street in Fort Myers Beach (left to right) are Jody Belfeuille, Ryan Kavanaugh, Sarah Kavanaugh, Laurie Martin, Jackie Velazquez and Chris Rusk. Steve Martin and Jennifer Rusk.
Residents who returned to the island on Sunday encountered large amounts of debris piled up in the streets to clean their muddy homes and pick up debris that had flowed onto their properties from neighboring homes and businesses.
Some houses floated on the road and got stuck in the middle of a residential area.
Many of the houses will have to be demolished and their roofs will need to be replaced.
Amid swarms of flies and bugs that feed on the waste left behind by the hurricane, residents complained that they were not allowed to return to their homes because of mold growing inside them.
The good weather since the hurricane weakened on Sunday, with prolonged heavy rains complicating recovery efforts.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Hall, Photo by Nathan Mayburg
On Miramar Street, a mix of old cottages and single-family homes, residents were optimistic about recovery but clearly shocked by the difficult task ahead. rice field “We Ain’t Leave Ian #We Are FMB.”
For Miramar Street resident Jennifer Rusk, she was as prominent before the hurricane as she was handing out environment and environmental information pamphlets in Times Square, Bowditch Point Park, and Newton Beach Park. got to think about other people and communities. Fort Myers Beach plants and birds.These parks are still standing despite massive flooding from Hurricane Her Ian, but information Rusk has painstakingly gathered last year with support from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (JN). brochure of “din” The Darling National Wildlife Preserve, Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, was destroyed by water and mold from Hurricane Ian.
“Our house is still standing, but it has no roof and we need to completely demolish the house. We will rebuild it.” Rusk said. The flood damage left him with a flooded first floor, most of the second floor was damaged, water was leaking from the roof, and black mold had grown on the sofa. Her pool and hot tub were destroyed. Her backyard was overflowing from her Estero shop in the neighborhood Keys. She found a turtle that she was trying to help.
Rusk says that in a best-case scenario, rebuilding could take six months, and he doesn’t know where he will live. The Federal Emergency Management Agency began providing disaster assistance while she was staying at the hotel.
Rusk said townspeople need help from all sources, including the Red Cross, food, water, cleaning supplies, bleach, heavy-duty gloves and safety glasses.
Sea Presbyterian Chapel in Fort Myers Beach, photo by Nathan Mayburg
“We are going to rebuild” Rusk spoke of her home on Miramar Street.Rusk is Miramar Street “Warzone” Description covering most of the town.
According to Rusk, the impact “Overwhelmed and heartbroken. I’m lucky, happy to be alive, glad we made it through, and grieve the soul of Fort Myers Beach that we lost. Emotional and angry.” she said. “I am sad for everyone.”
For several days, access to Miramar Avenue was blocked by a vacation rental building that once faced Estero Boulevard and was carried to the middle of the road by the swoop of Hurricane Ian.
On Sunday, road access remained difficult and was blocked by high piles of debris.
“This will be a long road of recovery for our community. We will get through this and come out better and stronger.” Rusk said. According to Rusk, the good news for residents of his street in Miramar is that the structure of the house is in good shape despite extensive mud and water damage. Due to water damage and the inability of residents to access their homes to dry and ventilate their homes, mold has begun to accumulate.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy said: ‘People are making progress’ Disaster relief teams are moving forward, “It will take a while” before the town reverts to the community it once was.
The good news, Murphy said, is that the town has been given a pledge by President Joe Biden and the federal government that all necessary assistance will be provided.
“He reassured me that the federal government’s full responsibility is here to help us. Murphy said.
Ryan and Sarah Cavanaugh use their home on Miramar Street primarily as a vacation rental. They have had a home since his 2013 and now live in St. Kitts and work as a veterinary teacher. Their home was built in 1944, making it one of his older homes still standing in Fort Myers Beach. Mrs. Cavanaugh suffered copious amounts of water and mold damage, but she said the house was not lost thanks to her all-impact windows. They lost a family photo album and Mrs. Kavanaugh’s wedding dress. “The house is still standing. We are grateful.” Kavanaugh said.
Miramar Street residents Steve and Laurie Martin survived Hurricane Ian from their home and watched the storm surge reach about 10 feet and flood the ground floor of their residence. They had a front row seat to the devastation of Hurricane Ian. A vacation rental building collapsed on Estero Boulevard and landed in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They saw a roof blown off a neighbor’s property and falling between two houses.
The couple own a production company, Laurie Starr Productions, and have performed music throughout the county and around the world.
“It was pretty scary” Mr Martin said.When asked what he had lost in his home, Martin said “Our whole ground floor” As well as the landscaping they’ve been working on around the house for 24 years. They lost speakers, recording equipment, amplifiers and microphones. “We saved our guitars, we saved our sense of humor.” He said.
The worst part of a hurricane is “Destruction of the entire island” Mr Martin said. “It takes time to clean up. Our charming little musical island, Old Fort Myers Beach, will never be what it used to be. It’s up to us.”
