WATCH: Devastating cost of Hurricane Ian to marine community

Monday, October 3rd, 2022

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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’.

Image courtesy of Jayden X

Concrete docks have been pushed onto grass, as Mayor Kevin Anderson says boats were “thrown around like toys.”

Image courtesy of CNN footage

Boats have been pushed up against this causeway as Hurricane Ian destroys boats across Florida.

Damage to boats from Hurricane Ian stretches for miles

Image courtesy of USA Today

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.

Hurricane Ian destroys boats. Image courtesy of CNN

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.

IBEX – the marine trade show which was due to take place in Tampa, Florida – was cancelled prior to the arrival of Hurricane Ian which destroyed boats.

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