Hurricane Ian devastated countless lives when it made landfall in Florida Sept. 28 as a category four storm. Although the hurricane hit Southwest Florida, its effects are being felt thousands of miles away by loved ones in the St. Thomas community.
St. Thomas senior Coryn “CJ” Jacobson has experienced the direct impacts of the storm, as her mother lives in the Indian Creek community in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, which was heavily hit by Ian. Jacobson’s mother evacuated south to Estero, Florida, and returned to a heavily damaged home once the storm had passed.
Despite her mother’s house being raised, there was “water damage up to the windows,” according to Jacobson. Since her home was raised, it fared better than most in the surrounding neighborhood that were not raised.
“Her house was one of the best in the community,” Jacobson said. “There were other houses that were just completely demolished.”
With sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph), it was one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit southwest Florida. Hurricane Ian hammered Florida with such ferocity that it wiped out whole neighborhoods, tossed boats onto highways, swept away beaches and swamped homes in roof-deep waters.
In the wake of the storm, the Indian Creek Park community offered to bulldoze the destroyed homes, setting up a fresh start for those like Jacobson’s mother, whose homes could not be saved.
“It wasn’t salvageable; the water did too much damage,” Jacobson said.
Watch a video of Jacobson’s Florida home here.
Cleaning up the mess of a damaged home or finding a new one in the wake of a catastrophe gives way to the longer term challenges of navigating the maze of bureaucracy for financial assistance, securing permits for rebuilding or fighting insurance companies over reimbursements.
According to Jacobson, this is a challenge that many residents of Indian Creek Park do not want to face, choosing instead to resettle elsewhere.
“All my mom’s friends are leaving and trying to find new places,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson, who normally stays in Florida with her mother over J-term, is disappointed to see the community so broken.
“It’s really sad because that’s like my second home,” Jacobson said. “The community there is so great.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Derek Badger can be reached at badg7629@stthomas.edu.