They lost everything in Hurricane Ian and are bracing for Idalia. Here’s what they want you to know
CNN
By Christina Zdanowicz and Kara Nelson, CNN
(CNN) — Less than a year after Hurricane Ian smashed into the Gulf Coast of Florida, the residents of Pine Island are still rebuilding their homes, all while waiting and watching the next hurricane.
Hurricane Idalia continues to strengthen and is already lashing Florida, bringing once-in-a-lifetime strength and storm surge levels to parts of the state’s Gulf Coast.
For some of Ian’s survivors, anxiety, panic and fear are setting in as they scramble to secure their homes and pray that Idalia doesn’t come their way. Pine Island, near Fort Myers, is forecast to get a peak storm surge of up to 6 feet.
Here’s what they want you to know:
‘I can’t be homeless again’
Alice Rivera came up to her trailer home after Hurricane Ian to see a twisted metal heap of walls and windows.
The 62-year-old Bokeelia resident is so relieved she didn’t stay.
“I’ve never been through a hurricane” until Ian, she said. “There wasn’t a single spot in that home where me and (my) dogs would have been safe.”
For months she bounced between friends’ homes and went back to outside Austin, Texas, where some of her family lives. She later used the money FEMA gave her to purchase an RV to be her new home in Bokeelia, even if it still had flat tires and needed some work done.
Rivera was in Texas this week when Idalia grew into a tropical storm, and she rushed back to Florida last night to pick up her dogs from a sitter. Tutu, her 10-year-old shih-poo, and Cash, a 7-year-old chihuahua-dachshund mix, don’t do well with storms.
“Ever since Ian, they are just scared to death of even rain,” she said.
This time around, Rivera said she’s not evacuating. She brought in anything that could knock into her RV, she said.
“I’m just hoping that all we get is a bunch of rain,” Rivera said. “I just want to keep a roof over my head. I can’t be homeless again.”
‘We are panicking’
A tarp still serves as a roof on Bobby Mann’s house 10 months after Hurricane Ian destroyed his home in St. James City. He and his wife, Jodi, live in a traveler’s trailer parked in the yard while they wait for their home to be restored.
With local contractors booked months out, the 53-year-old and his wife decided to start rebuilding their home themselves, with help from FEMA and other residents. While the couple has made progress, Bobby fears that their efforts will be wasted.
“We’re worried about the storm ripping that tarp off and ruining everything we have been working on,” Bobby told CNN. Hurricane Ian left them with nothing, he said.
“It was over 4 feet of ocean throughout our house, churning like a washing machine,” Bobby recalled. He describes last year’s hurricane season as a “war zone” out of a movie.
Hurricane Ian switched course from the forecasts and left little time for them to safely leave their house. This time, the couple said they were gathering supplies and would be prepared to evacuate if Hurricane Idalia came their way.
“Freaking out” isn’t enough to describe the feeling Bobby has. “That doesn’t even do it justice. We are panicking,” he said.
While local news reports tout the residents as strong and resilient, and that’s true, Bobby said, help is still needed.
“We’re still hurting. We’re not recovered yet.”
‘Everybody’s real on edge’
All the bridges to Pine Island failed after Hurricane Ian, leaving Maureen Hawes stranded on the island without a home, power and water, she said.
“It was like stuff you see on TV, like ‘Survivor,’” the 51-year-old retiree said.
Hawes and her husband would fill up tote bags of water at a well on the island. They took showers in their front yard with it, she explained.
Everyone seemed to be living by their own rules.
“It was like a free-for-all,” she said. “There was no police, there was no help. Nothing for days. We were on our own. It was kind of spooky.”
A year later, the couple is living in a 23-foot trailer next door to their daughter and her fiancé, she said.
“My anxiety level is through the roof,” Hawes said as she prepared for Hurricane Idalia. “We have a little bit of post-traumatic stress disorder from last year.”
When they went to the grocery store to prepare for the storm, she noticed customers started venting to each other.
“We found that the grocery stores were like a therapy session and even yesterday, everybody was just talking like, ‘What are you gonna do?’” Hawes said. “Everybody’s real on edge.”
Hawes just got a permit to start building on a new property she purchased after Hurricane Ian.
“Hopefully my trailer doesn’t get injured tonight,” she said. “Hopefully, this time next year, I’ll be in my house.”
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CNN’s Gabe Cohen contributed to this report.
