By Stephen Smith and Bobby Caina Calvan -
The Associated Press
Rotting fish and garbage litter the streets of Sanibel Island.
On dry land, debris from flattened houses piles up in a canal like matchsticks.
Huge shrimp boats sit amid the remains of a mobile home park.
“Think of a snowball.
Pick it up and shake it: that's what happened," says Fred Szott.
For the past three days, he and his wife Joyce have been making trips to their destroyed mobile home in Fort Myers after Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast.
Regarding emotional turbulence, he says: "Either you hold on, or you lose."
Bruce Hickey, 70, walks along debris, including shrimp boats, at the mobile home park where he and his wife Kathy have a winter home on San Carlos Island, Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.AP
The number of storm-related deaths rose to at least 101 on Thursday, eight days after the storm made landfall in southwest Florida.
According to reports from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, 92 of those deaths occurred in Florida.
Five people also died in North Carolina, three in Cuba and one in Virginia.
Ian is the second deadliest storm to hit the continental United States in the 21st century, behind Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,800 dead in 2005. The deadliest cyclone to hit the United States was the Galveston hurricane in 1900, which killed 8,000 people.
Bruce and Kathy Hickey, both 70, stand outside their home, a trailer originally purchased by Kathy's mother in 1979, in a mobile home park on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Wednesday. October 5, 20.AP
Residents of Florida's devastated islands are beginning to return, assessing the damage to homes and businesses despite limited access to some areas.
Pamela Brislin came by boat to see what she could save herself.
Brislin stayed through the storm, but is haunted by what happened next.
She when she checked the situation of a neighbor of hers, whom she found crying.
Her husband had passed away and her body was lying on a picnic table until help arrived.
Another neighbor's house caught fire.
The flames were so great that they forced Breslin to do what the hurricane couldn't: flee with her husband and a neighbor's dog.
Ian, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) per hour, unleashed torrents of rain and caused extensive flooding and damage.
The deluge turned the streets into mighty rivers.
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The water channels of the patios overflowed into the neighborhoods, sometimes for more than 3.5 meters, throwing the boats into patios and roads.
The beaches disappeared, since the waves of the sea pushed the coasts inland.
Authorities estimate that the storm caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Sanibel Island's broken causeway may not be passable until the end of the month.
Island authorities had ordered a full curfew after the storm passed, allowing search and rescue teams to do their jobs.
That meant residents who evacuated were technically blocked from returning.
"We are left with nothing."
Ian's time in Fort Myers left this family homeless
Oct. 4, 202202:09
The city of about 7,000 people began allowing residents to return from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
City Manager Dana Souza assured residents in a Facebook live stream that she wished the city had resources to provide transportation, but for now, residents would have to arrange tours by private boat.
At a news conference Thursday in the Sarasota County town of Nokomis, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis praised the widespread restoration of running water through the storm-affected area and work to restore power. .
Some 185,000 customers remain without power, compared to more than 2.6 million statewide.
He said rescue workers have carried out some 2,500 missions, especially in the Gulf Coast islands, as well as inland areas that have suffered heavy flooding.
More than 90,000 structures have been inspected and checked for survivors, she added.
"I would ask you to give people a roof": victims of Ian expect help with Biden's visit
Oct. 5, 202202:29
President Joe Biden toured some of the hurricane-affected areas of Florida on Wednesday, surveying the damage by helicopter and then walking alongside DeSantis.
The Democratic president and the Republican governor have pledged to put aside political rivalries to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives.
Biden stressed in a briefing with local officials that the effort could take years.