Each spring without fail, female loggerhead sea turtles make their way back to Fort Myers Beach after months of swimming hundreds, if not thousands of miles out in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. In the video at the top of this page you can still see hard-hit areas that are still months, or even years away from fully recovering. ", Susan Helton has experienced trauma before. Turtle Time, the local organization founded by Eve Haverfield to document and protect sea turtle hatchlings on Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, has been instrumental in creating regulations to protect the reptiles. and last updated 2023-04-26 18:10:08-04. Rent vouchers dont help. Jay landed after the storm, dozens of others pitched tents and relieved themselves in paint buckets. There has been this assumption that everybody should be able to read these guides and get this information, but its not that simple, said Lindsay Peterson, a research assistant professor at the University of South Floridas School of Aging Studies. Lewis Kamb is a national FOIA reporter for NBC News, based in Seattle. Each of those nests can contain up to 100 eggs. The town charges $250 for the first citation and $500 for additional violations for the same property. One official who flew over the community estimates that 80% of the structures will have to be rebuilt. IE 11 is not supported. Part of a destroyed mobile home park is pictured in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022. FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, many businesses along Fort Myers Beach have put in the work to get their operations back up. By then, Yost, who doesnt have a car and gets around on an electric bicycle, didnt think he had much choice but to remain. Wreckage outside a residence on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Oct. 31. A lot of it came down to the people who cried wolf too many times and nothing happened, said Yost, 56. Still, at the seven-month mark since the Category 4 storm hit, it can be difficult and painful to see the scars that remain in many places, including Sanibel Island, which along with Fort Myers Beach, Pine Island and parts of Cape Coral and Fort Myers neighborhoods along the Caloosahatchess River, absorbed the brunt of Ian. The agency uses the maps in public education campaigns around the country before the annual start of hurricane season. Lee County officials declined requests for interviews about how they prepare residents for hurricanes, communicate risks and decide the timing of evacuation orders. The band is saying "peace out" after more than 50 years together. When storms and hurricanes come into the county from the east, officials typically mandate coastal areas to evacuate because those storms bring deadly surges off the Atlantic, he said. They devote huge amounts of time and resources to preparing for hurricanes, with public education campaigns that include free preparedness guides, phone calls, door-to-door canvassing and pre-registration for special needs evacuation shelters. Like the house, all the couple's plans were scrambled and destroyed by the hurricane. Chustz will patrol the beach at night to monitor light pollution on sea turtle nesting habitat. The forecasters were comparing Ian to Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm that hit the area in 2004. Landscaping. They really gave us a lot of heads up during Irma. He anchored offshore, rowed a dinghy to town when he needed cigarettes. The water got up to my neck. The next day, Jim returned, fearful about what he might find. Rebuilding. The $50 billion in damage statewide made Irma Floridas fifth-costliest hurricane at the time, but the storm still wasnt as destructive as forecasters had feared. April 28, Seven people died, three of them in high-risk surge zones. FORT MYERS, Fla. As Hurricane Ian charged toward the western coast of Florida this week, the warnings from forecasters were growing more urgent. He built a successful business on Captiva, another nearby island devastated by the storm. Many residents, especially those who were new to the area, didnt know that they lived in storm surge danger zones, relatives and survivors said. They knew days in advance. It's also very important to try and keep a copy of your policy handy and safe. NBC News reporters submitted more than 60 public records requests to local and state police agencies, medical examiners offices and emergency management agencies to collect 911 and emergency dispatch recordings, police reports, autopsy records and other documents to account for the dead. One of the places severely damaged by Hurricane Ian was Fort Myers Beach, and seven months later, theres still more to do, but theyve come a long way. Property owners are encouraged to be proactive. Fort Myers News-Press. Past update on Publix7 things to know about Fort Myers Beach's'functional paradise,' new damage estimates, Want more FMB news?No injuries in roof fire that raged at Fort Myers Beach condo building Saturday afternoon. Nigel Chiwaya is the Senior Editor, Data Viz for NBC News Digital. By the time the evacuation orders came, Hoffman recalled thinking, it was too late. Of the 109 But in 2012, Tropical Storm Debby dumped his sailboat onto Gulfport Beach, where he stayed on the wrecked Promise for almost a month. 7 things to know about Fort Myers Beach's'functional paradise,' new damage estimates, No injuries in roof fire that raged at Fort Myers Beach condo building Saturday afternoon, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Daniel Noah, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tampa, said that regardless of the effort by local officials and forecasters, there will be people who dont leave and die because of it. The stores will be closed by the end of June, so what can consumers expect in the coming weeks? Lee Countys emergency management website says it can take 41 hours to evacuate people; Ian made landfall about 32 hours after the first evacuation order. Michael Yost's two closest friends in Fort Myers Beach drowned in Hurricane Ian. NBC News determined the precise locations of 86 of the 119 deaths and found that two-thirds were in areas the federal government deemed at elevated risk of storm surge in a Category 4 hurricane. Our team is working diligently to get the store prepped and ready for reopening," Lindsey Willis, Publix media relations manager, said in an email. By the time Peters realized she was wrong, water had already started gushing into her home. "It's critical to check on that property insurance right now," Robert Norberg of Arden Insurance in Lantana said. County governments also maintain registries of disabled people who may need to go to special-needs shelters during storms. Hed written his plea for all to see: I need help finding a 47-foot sailboat. Then a guy he knows told him about this 38-footer in Placida, about an hours drive north. FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, many businesses along Fort Myers Beach have put in the work to get their operations back up. The guy told him: It hasnt been floating in quite a few years.. They walk the beach at dawn each morning looking for the tracks of turtles who have nested. In recent years, a growing number of older people with impairments have been given the resources health aides, medical equipment, meal deliveries, paid caregivers to remain at home instead of spend the rest of their days in nursing homes or assisted living centers. These tracks were from a sea turtle's false crawl over the weekend on Bonita Beach. Fortunately, there are no current threats to South Florida. Hurricane Ian one month later: Inside Floridas recovery, Overwhelmed medical examiners try to identify those killed by Hurricane Ian, After the storm, an autistic boy and his older brother drowned in a flooded canal. They included 64 drownings, 19 deaths because of delayed medical care, nine falls and eight deaths due to oxygen machines failing because of power outages, as well as people who died from infections, car crashes and accidents. hide caption. They hung up, and DeMoss hoped shed be fine. A vehicle in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., with a sign that carries the number of hurricane victims. Eight people rode out the hurricane in a beachside motel. Jay spent five months beneath a Fort Myers bridge before buying an old boat. During a storm, you will hear this, especially on social media: Why didnt they just leave? I like solitude, he said. Haverfield, who lost her home off island in Fort Myers to Hurricane Ian like many others on Fort Myers Beach, said thankfully most of my volunteers have joyfully returned.. Your nonperishable food items really important to want to make sure that you have that those important documents on hand, flashlights, batteries, making sure all your devices are charged up as much as possible, Giarratana said. Amber LED light is bright, but it has a wavelength that is long which sea turtles and other nocturnal species, including migratory birds, dont react to. Haverfield said she is concerned about the sea turtles encountering dangerous objects on the beaches left over from Hurricane Ian. CBS4 News chief meteorologist Ivan Cabrera's weather outlook for South Florida. Six months after Hurricane Ian stormed across Southwest Florida, people in many areas are still struggling to rebuild. When it comes to windows and glass slider doors, FWC sea turtle biologists have advised that turtle glass with 45% light transmittance may not be sufficient to adequately reduce light visibility to nesting and hatchling sea turtles. Scientists say too many people still die in hurricanes, despite improved forecasts. This was the seventh hurricane seasonin a row to produce a deadly landfalling hurricane on the U.S mainland. ", Destroyed houses and buildings are visible in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Friday. Peters had safely ridden that storm out at home, and she told her son she would be fine this time, too. Beginning May 1, some people with higher credit scores may actually end up paying a higher fee. She made her way to the kitchen, where she discovered her fiancs body. Theresa Conway and Daymon Utterback on the day Utterback proposed. Jim and Susan Helton sit int he back of a car outside a hotel in Fort Myers, Fla. Their home in Fort Myers beach was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. What you do is up to you, Gleason said. Im so nervous I could throw up, she wrote. So that makes the need to prepare for hurricane season even more essential. He rode out three hurricanes and dozens of other storms on the water. Or maybe a boxer. When it comes to windows and glass slider doors, FWC sea turtle biologists have advised that , with 45% light transmittance may not be sufficient to adequately reduce light visibility to nesting and hatchling sea turtles. The conditions during the storm killed at least 61 people there, more than in any other county. 4 min read. Make a plan, and prepare for the worst, whether that means leaving town or deciding to stay with friends or family.
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