FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla — Six months ago, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida as a category 4 storm along the coast of Ft. Myers Beach. It left absolute devastation in its wake.
The rushing water from the storm surge and sustained winds of 150 miles per hour left the island unrecognizable and wiped out major landmarks and homes.
Times Square was a popular spot for tourists and locals alike. A few days following Ian, it became ground zero for search and rescue and first responders. It was the spot they gathered to talk about where they would go on the island to try and find people who were potentially still stuck in their homes.
Residents and business owners have worked around the clock to clean up. ABC Action News Reporter Heather Leigh and Photojournalist Michael Brantley found out rebuilding may not be an option for all.
“About 11:18 a.m., the water started coming down the street. It was only six to eight inches high," said Brad Richards, who lives on a neighborhood street parallel to Estero Boulevard. "By 1:30 p.m., it was halfway up the stairs to the house.”
Ian was a storm unlike anything Richards has ever seen before.
“They’ve always warned us about the water coming in, and we didn’t get any of that in any of the other storms," he said. "Charlie, I think I had a half inch up the driveway and into the garage, and Irma we didn’t get anything because the wind blew the water out.”
Richards and his girlfriend, Jill Sanders, admit they were fortunate this time around, even though there were moments at the height of the storm when fear began to set in.
“When I looked down the street there, I said to Jill look down the street right there; I’ve never seen that house," Richards said. "And that’s when the paranoia strikes ya; how much higher is this water gonna go, and where is it going to go?”
Richards Captured several videos and pictures two days after Hurricane Ian rolled through. He showed us what his street looked like then and what it looks like now.
“They were like bowling balls, they came across the street and when you drive down the beach, you’ll see that the first four to five houses on every street that there were old cottages on the beach, it just mowed them down like bowling pins," he said.
"It looked like something from the apocalypse or doomsday or whatever," Sanders said.
A lot of the homes, or land where homes once stood along Estero Boulevard, as well as neighborhoods in between, are for sale. Neighbors say a lot of people just can’t afford to fix their homes or rebuild.
“After they’re only gonna get three-fourths of what their place is worth, and then it'll cost another half of that just to rebuild," said Richards. "$700,000 you’re gonna get, it’s gonna cost you $1.2M to rebuild a minimum code house here, anywhere.”
Cheri Schlottman is doing that now with mostly personal funds.
“We knew it was going to be difficult but it’s nothing like you imagined. We’re still fighting wind insurance," she said.
She said some of the flood insurance money has come in, but, any corrections to the insurance company’s list will have to wait. The company told her it's still working on initial claims — and that’s not all she’s fighting.
“We had damage to the roof from the wind but by the time you take the depreciation off and the deductible off, I’m in the hole," she said.
But for now, the work will continue.
She admits the damage in the wake of the storm was "unbelievable.”
And it still is.
Most homes and businesses don’t have power. There’s still no plumbing in many of the condos and high rises. The basic things humans rely on have still not been restored, which makes life on the island extremely difficult.
“You would like to think that you’re not that unlucky to have it happen again," Schlottman said.
Determination often prevails and here in Fort Myers Beach you can see and hear that all around.