WATCH: Devastating cost of Hurricane Ian to marine community
As Hurricane Ian destroys boats across Florida, horrific images are flooding in of the cost to the marine community.
More than 1,100 people have been rescued from parts of southwest and central Florida since Ian tore its pathway Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office says, but as the search for survivors continues, rescuers are finding more bodies. Officials say Ian killed at least 76 people in Florida and four more in North Carolina.
“We’re flying and we’re operating in areas that are unrecognisable,” US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson told CNN.
“There’s no street signs. They don’t look like they used to look like. Buildings that were once benchmarks in the community are no longer there.”
Now video and images are being shared of what’s happened to the marine community’s prized possessions.
The Weather Channel shared the images (bleow) of the before and after at a Fort Myers marina, which its Paul Goodloe describes as: “tossed and turned, partially submerged.”
In this clip, boats can be seen piled up in Fort Myers.
Andrew Wix decided to ride out the storm on his boat at a marina and says he regretted his decision to stay ‘almost immediately’ but it was too late to go elsewhere.
“My boat started going down so I had to jump straight back onto the dock,” he told WPLG Local 10. “I ran as far as I could to the first boat on the dock,” where he then stayed for 12 hours.
Vessels stranded on roads as Hurricane Ian destroys boats
Boats lay strewn along the side of the road, and as meteorologist Matthew Cappucci from MyRadar Weather explains, moving water carries far more power than wind. He describes the smell as “leaking gasoline, insulation, a bit of raw sewage, the smell of the ocean and decomposing fish.”
This footage shows ‘boats out for an afternoon stroll in the city’.
Looks like the boats are out for an afternoon stroll in the city as Hurricane Ian is causing massive destruction in Fort Myers, Florida. #HurricanIan #IanHurricane #Hurricane pic.twitter.com/9ZZI1WRYG4
— Jayden X (@nojaydenx) September 28, 2022
Concrete docks have been pushed onto grass, as Mayor Kevin Anderson says boats were “thrown around like toys.”
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson says Hurricane Ian threw large boats around “like they were toys” https://t.co/6ovTEVeUCa pic.twitter.com/bpoRbij0sJ
— CNN (@CNN) September 30, 2022
Boats have been pushed up against this causeway as Hurricane Ian destroys boats across Florida.
Boats are pushed up on a causeway after Hurricane Ian passed through the area in Fort Myers, Florida. https://t.co/RdYLvfum24
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 29, 2022
📷 Joe Raedle / Getty pic.twitter.com/G8NZxRqpKs
Damage to boats from Hurricane Ian stretches for miles
The damage stretches for miles in Lee County, Florida, where homes, cars, boats and more were tossed around by Hurricane Ian when it make landfall. pic.twitter.com/vkiB5J8dsr
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 3, 2022
Hurricane Ian destroys boats on Sanibel Island
At least 42 people died on Sanibel Island.
CNN’s John Berman flew above storm damage.
“A lot of people have very expensive, well-built homes on Sanibel, and they felt with their multi-million dollar homes built like fortresses, they would be fine,” says Berman.
Residents from Sanibel and Captiva islands were cut off from mainland Florida after parts of a causeway were destroyed by the storm, leaving boats and helicopters as their only exit options.
Andy Boyle was on Sanibel Island when the hurricane hit. He said he lost his home and two cars, but feels lucky to be alive.
He says he started to get concerned when his dining room roof collapsed.
“When you go to the east end of the island, there’s just a lot of destruction. The houses surrounding the lighthouse are all gone. When you go to the west end of the island, the old restaurants up there, they’re all gone. The street going to Captiva is now a beach,” Boyle says.
The storm surge from Hurricane Ian lifted boats, carrying them out of their docks and dropping them when it retreated. pic.twitter.com/17z40S3IjG
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 1, 2022
Drone footage captured shows yachts and other boats tossed around like matchbox cars and piled on the shore in the wake of Hurricane Ian pic.twitter.com/Mn7AfKZuJc
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 30, 2022
Aerial views in Ft. Myers over the last 2 days. Large boats tossed upon one another, homes destroyed and neighborhoods flooded. Search and rescues operations are still ongoing. Coverage of the impacts from Hurricane #Ian continue on @weatherchannel. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/XUCmyuoieJ
— Charles Peek (@CharlesPeekWX) October 1, 2022
Rescue at sea from Hurricane Ian
And here, the US Coast Guard rescue four people from their boat, caught in the hurricane off North Carolina.
Dramatic video shows members of the U.S. Coast Guard rescue four people from a boat that was caught in heavy weather near the Oregon Inlet in North Carolina as Hurricane Ian approached the area. https://t.co/jQyczcK0Zx pic.twitter.com/NMXJ8oDKfp
— ABC News (@ABC) October 3, 2022