Hurricane Ian – A Descent into a Hellish Experience

For those who went through Hurricane Irma a few years back, it looks now like a cakewalk if projections prove to be accurate. Especially for Fort Myers. For many it’s a flight to safety. For many, it’s a decent into a hellish experience.  For those without money or transportation the alternative is the so called shelter. Let me show you what Dante’s inferno looks like in a couple of clips.

As many know I retired and lived in Fort Myers. I had planned on staying with friends in Tampa at the time of Hurricane Irma. At the last minute Irma took a turn and at the time looked like Tampa now was a target. Long story short, I decided to head North at the last moment. Into a shelter. At the time, few shelters would take pets. I was expected to dispense with my 15 year old cat.

Finally at the last moment, the shelter I was sent to was totally filled and a school around the corner opened.  They let me keep my cat in a locker room. Better yet, there were only about a hundred of us dispersed throughput several classrooms. I was one of the lucky ones. But this is not about me. For most, lest we forget, their experience was anything like mine.

I still have many close friends in the community where I previously lived. Several are determined to stay in place. My prayers for their safety and for all my friends and for the community that I so much enjoyed.

After Irma I determined to return North. That chapter closed.

Let’s keep our thoughts and prayers for all those who are going through this difficult time. Especially those who are forced for whatever reason to be in a shelter.

Let me give you a couple of clips of the Fort Myers shelter during Irma. For those who had neither the money or transportation to escape. For those who waited too long.

More than six million Floridians had been ordered to evacuate, with at least 54,000 scattered in 320 shelters across the state. Still, for thousands, finding a shelter not at capacity had been hard to come by.

Here is an update on the worried folks who were trying to get in and how the shelter held up. 500 shelters for hundreds of thousands evacuees.

Our best wishes and prayers for Floridians.