The Sentinel not only cares deeply about bringing our readers accurate and critical news, we insist all of the crucial stories we provide are available for everyone — for free.
Like you, we know how critical accurate and dependable information and facts are in making the best decisions about, well, everything that matters. Factual reporting is crucial to a sound democracy, a solid community and a satisfying life.
So there’s no paywall at SentinelColorado.com. Our print editions are free on stands across the region, and our daily email E-ditions are free just for signing up, to anyone.
But we need your help to carry out this essential mission.
Please help us keep the Sentinel different and still here when you need us, for everyone. Join us now, and thank you.
Jake Moses, 19, left, and Heather Jones, 18, of Fort Myers, explore a section of destroyed businesses at Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Thursday, Sep 29, 2022, following Hurricane Ian. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Residents are rescued from floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Residents are rescued from floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jake Moses, 19, left, and Heather Jones, 18, of Fort Myers, explore a section of destroyed businesses at Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Thursday, Sep 29, 2022, following Hurricane Ian. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A man walks through a street among damaged homes and businesses and debris in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Thursday, Sep 29, 2022, following Hurricane Ian. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Damages boats lie on the land and water in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Smoldering homes are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Meyers Beach. Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
A damaged causeway to Sanibel Island is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian , Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, near Sanibel Island, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Damaged homes and debris are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
This image provided by Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office rescue crews work quickly to safely evacuate Avante at Orlando nursing home residents on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Orlando, Fla. Officials say rain and overflow from rivers is causing severe flooding near parts of Florida’s Atlantic coast as storm Ian makes its way back out to sea. (Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office via AP)
In this photo provided by Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office, firefighters in Orange County, Fla., help people stranded by Hurricane Ian early Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. Ian marched across central Florida on Thursday as a tropical storm after battering the state’s southwest coast, dropping heavy rains that caused flooding and led to inland rescues and evacuations. (Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office via AP)
Curious sightseers walk in the receding waters of Tampa Bay due to the low tide and tremendous winds from Hurricane Ian in Tampa Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Celia Salazar holds her grandson Ricardo Salazar Jr. as they check into the emergency shelter at Largo High School as the Tampa Bay region prepares for the high winds and water from Hurricane Ian in Largo, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP)
A man stands in the middle 7th Street in Ybor City on the rains soaked streets, a few hours before the high winds from Hurricane Ian hit Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Disney character “Big Al,” from Country Bear Jamboree, joins guests sheltering in place at their hotel at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, as the first effects of Hurricane Ian are felt in Central Florida. Disney, along with Universal and SeaWorld, closed their Central Florida theme parks in response to the storm. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
This image provided by the Naples Fire Rescue Department shows firefighters looking out at the firetruck that stands in water from the storm surge from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in Naples, Fla. Hurricane Ian has made landfall in southwestern Florida as a massive Category 4 storm. (Naples Fire Department via AP)
A truck pulls a man on a kayak on a low-lying road after flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, in Key West, Fla., Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Martin)
People in raincoats walk along International Drive in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, as the first effects of Hurricane Ian are felt in central Florida. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
This image provided by the Naples Fire Rescue Department shows a firefighter carrying gear in water from the storm surge from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in Naples, Fla. Hurricane Ian has made landfall in southwestern Florida as a massive Category 4 storm. (Naples Fire Department via AP)
In this image made from a NASA livestream, Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday as a catastrophic Category 4 storm. (NASA via AP)
David Dellinger with the National Weather Service, surveys the damage from an apparent overnight tornado spawned from Hurricane Ian at Kings Point 55+ community in Delray Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Carline Jean /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Waves crash along the Ballast Point Pier ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian’s most damaging winds have begun hitting Florida’s southwest coast as the storm approaches landfall. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
People walk where water is receding out of Tampa Bay due to a negative surge ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot in The Villages of Sumter County, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
An uprooted tree, toppled by strong winds from the outer bands of Hurricane Ian, rests in a parking lot of a shopping center, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Cooper City, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
This GOES-East GeoColor satellite image taken at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2022, and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows the eye of Hurricane Ian approaching the southwest coast of Florida. Hurricane Ian’s most damaging winds began hitting Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (NOAA via AP)
Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot in The Villages of Sumter County, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
An uprooted tree, toppled by strong winds from the outer bands of Hurricane Ian, rests in a parking lot of a shopping center, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Cooper City, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
An airplane overturned by a likely tornado produced by the outer bands of Hurricane Ian is shown, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Gary and Sharon Adams clear their yard of debris in Hollywood, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, where residents say a tornado touched down overnight. Hurricane Ian has strengthened with maximum winds at 155 mph and is now expected to make landfall on the Southwest coast of Florida near Sarasota. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
A woman takes photos of the surf on Tampa Bay ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
This image provided by FLDOT shows an emergency vehicle traveling on the Sunshine Skyway over Tampa Bay, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (FDOT via AP)
This Satellite image provided by NASA on Sept. 26, 2022, shows Hurricane Ian pictured from the International Space Station just south of Cuba gaining strength and heading toward Florida. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday, Sept. 28, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (NASA via AP)
This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Ian off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian has rapidly intensified off Florida’s coast, gaining top winds of 155 mph, just shy of the most devastating Category 5 hurricane status. (NOAA via AP)
Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her mobile home in Davie, Fla., early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Ivan Mendoza surveys the damage at his mobile home in Davie, Fla., early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Ivan Mendoza begins to repair damage at his mobile home in Davie, Fla., early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Guests depart the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in the final minutes before the park closed early to accommodate an evening special event, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando all announced Tuesday that they will be closed Wednesday and Thursday due to the weather conditions caused by Hurricane Ian. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Kite surfers glide across the water as they take advantage of strong winds caused by Hurricane Ian, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, at Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Heather Danenhower, with Duke Energy, walks around utility trucks that are staged in a rural lot in The Villages of Sumter County, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
People walk where water is receding out of Tampa Bay due to a negative surge ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Utility trucks are staged ahead of Hurricane Ian, near the Florida Turnpike, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Wildwood, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This image provided by the Naples Fire Rescue Department shows a firefighter carrying gear in water from the storm surge from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in Naples, Fla. Hurricane Ian has made landfall in southwestern Florida as a massive Category 4 storm. (Naples Fire Department via AP)
A truck pulls a man on a kayak on a low-lying road after flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, in Key West, Fla., Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Martin)
Brianna Renas, 17, inspects a fallen palm tree outside her home in Cape Coral after riding out Hurricane Ian with her family on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Cape Coral. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
In this photo provided by Dr. Birgit Bodine, a staff member stands in a flooded hallway at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian swamped the Florida hospital from both above and below, the storm surge flooding its lower level emergency room while fierce winds tore part of its fourth floor roof from its intensive care unit, according to Bodine, who works there. (Dr. Birgit Bodine via AP)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., | Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark.
The destruction began to come into focus a day after Ian made landfall in Florida as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. The storm flooded homes on both of the state’s coasts, cut off the only bridge to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers. At least one man was confirmed dead.
Aerial photos from the Fort Myers area, a few miles west of where Ian struck land, showed homes ripped from their slabs and deposited in a jumble among shredded wreckage. Businesses near the beach were completely razed, leaving just twisted debris. Broken docks floated at odd angles beside damaged boats, and fires smoldered on lots where houses once stood.
“We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a news conference. “The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event.”
Though downgraded to a tropical storm by Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said storm surge and flooding rains remained a threat as Ian crept across the Florida peninsula and emerged in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Canaveral. Forecasters predicted Ian would regain some strength while turning northward.
A hurricane warning was issued for the South Carolina coast, where the storm was expected to again make landfall, having already hit Cuba and Florida.
Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. The U.S. Coast Guard began rescue efforts hours before daybreak on barrier islands near where Ian struck, DeSantis said. More than 800 members of federal urban search-and-rescue teams were also in the area.
In the Orlando area, Orange County firefighters used boats to reach people in a flooded neighborhood. A photo the department posted on Twitter showed one firefighter carrying someone in his arms through knee-deep water. At an area nursing home, patients were carried on stretchers across floodwaters to a waiting bus.
Firefighters on boats and National Guard soldiers in a tall truck rescued Joseph Agboona and his neighbors after water rose to the windows in his Orlando home.
“We were happy to get out,” said Agboona, who grabbed two bags of possessions, not knowing what will be left when he eventually returns. “It was very, very bad.”
In Fort Myers, Valerie Bartley’s family spent desperate hours Wednesday holding a dining room table against their patio door, fearing the storm raging outside “was tearing our house apart.”
“I was terrified,” Bartley said. “What we heard was the shingles and debris from everything in the neighborhood hitting our house.”
She said her 4-year-old daughter grabbed her hand and said: “I’m scared too, but it’s going to be OK.” The girl was right. The storm ripped away patio screens and snapped a palm tree in the yard, Bartley said, but left the roof intact and her family unharmed.
Authorities confirmed at least one Florida death — a 72-year-old man in Deltona who fell into a canal while using a hose to drain his pool in the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said. Two other storm deaths were reported in Cuba.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said his office was scrambling to respond to thousands of 911 calls, but many roads and bridges in Fort Myers and the surrounding area were impassable.
“It crushed us,” Marceno told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “We still cannot access many of the people that are in need.”
Emergency crews sawed through toppled trees to reach stranded people. Many in the hardest-hit areas were unable to call for help because of electrical and cellular outages.
“Portable towers are on the way for cell service. Chances are your loved ones do not have ability to contact you,” said the sheriff’s office in Collier County, which includes Naples. “We can tell you as daylight reveals the aftermath, it’s going to be a hard day.”
Christine Bomlitz was unable to reach her mother by phone after the storm made landfall south of Englewood, where the 84-year-old woman lives in a retirement community. Bomlitz said her mother was supposed to evacuate but was never picked up. So the anxious daughter from Las Vegas posted a plea for help on social media.
Some Good Samaritans replied and came to her aid Thursday, one of them wading in chest-deep floodwaters in her mother’s neighborhood to perform a welfare check. Relieved that her mother had weathered the storm, Bomlitz was working to arrange a boat rescue.
“I’m thankful for this stranger, a total stranger,” Bomlitz said. “People are amazing.”
A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally live. It was unknown how many heeded orders to evacuate, but Charlotte County Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller expressed cautious optimism that worst-case scenarios might not have been realized.
No deaths or injuries have been confirmed in the county, and flyovers of barrier islands show “the integrity of the homes is far better than we anticipated,” Fuller said.
South of Sanibel Island, the historic beachfront pier in Naples was destroyed, with even the pilings underneath torn out, as towering waves crashed over the structure. “Right now, there is no pier,” said Penny Taylor, a Collier County commissioner.
In Port Charlotte, a hospital’s emergency room flooded and fierce winds ripped away part of the roof, sending water gushing into the intensive care unit. The sickest patients — some on ventilators — were crowded into the middle two floors as the staff prepared for storm victims to arrive, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.
The Florida Highway Patrol shut down the Florida Turnpike in the Orlando area and said the main artery in the middle of the state will remain closed until water subsides.
Ian struck Florida as a monstrous Category 4 storm, with 150 mph (241 kph) winds that tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the U.S.
Even after weakening, Ian’s tropical storm-force winds still reached 415 miles (667 kilometers) from its center. Forecasters predicted the Atlantic waters would strengthen it to a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall Friday in South Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center warned storm surge of 6 feet (1.83 meters) or more was possible from Daytona Beach, Florida, to north of Charleston, South Carolina. Rainfall of up to 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) threatened flooding in the Carolinas and Virginia.
“It doesn’t matter what the intensity of the storm is. We’re still expecting quite a bit of rainfall,” Robbie Berg, senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search and rescue mission for 23 people after a boat carrying Cuban migrants sank Wednesday in stormy weather east of Key West. It found three survivors, and four others swam to shore, the U.S. Border Patrol said. Air crews continued to search for possibly 20 remaining migrants.
___
Associated Press contributors include Cody Jackson in Tampa, Florida; Freida Frisaro in Miami; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Seth Borenstein and Aamer Madhani in Washington; Bobby Caina Calvan in New York; and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio.