In the Fort Myers area, which was hit especially hard by Hurricane Ian, residents are assessing the scale of the devastation and describing a hellish 24 hours. Homes, roads, and businesses have been destroyed. Authorities, who are still trying to determine the death toll, say the recovery will take years.
- "A feeling of helplessness." Fort Myers resident Karen Baughman, 81, tells Politico that she had "a feeling of helplessness" as she sat in her home, waiting the hurricane raging around her to pass. “It was just waiting and praying that it got over in a hurry, and it did not," she says." It just parked next to us."