FORT MYERS, Fla. (WSVN) – First responders from South Florida are on the west coast of Florida on a rescue mission working tirelessly to reach victims before it’s too late.
Hurricane Ian has already taken at least 27 lives, and almost 2 million Floridians are without power, so time is of the essence.
This is what first responders are calling ground zero. What was Fort Myers Beach is now miles of destruction.
Rescuers are breaking up into groups, covering as much territory as possible while on a 24-hour schedule, and even two days after the storm, they are still finding people who need saving.
“This is our whole life right here in a nutshell,” said a survivor helping to pull a cart with her family.
Miami Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Zahralban said, “Because if the storm surge, the streets were blocked, and thankfully we bring our own equipment in order to gain access to the streets.”
7News rode along with City of Miami’s Florida Task Force 2, as they went door to door looking for survivors, Friday.
“If we get to a building or a house and we find people, stand fast right there,” said Esteban Lora, Squad Boss for City of Miami Florida Task Force 2, addressing a team of rescuers.
“So what we’re doing is called hasty searches where we’re trying to assess damages of the buildings and identify if there’s any people that need assistance,” Lora said. “This is the most important part because it gives us a better understanding of how bad the community is impacted, and it lets them know we’re here to help them.”
“We’re seeing trucks from Miami, Broward, from all over the place, you know, what I can say, it’s nice that everyone is coming together,” said a man.
“We got Coast Guard here, Fort Myers, we got everyone here that needs to be here,” said Lora.
The task force is working in 24-hour shifts and using every available resource.
“So, right now, because of the trailer parks, because of the type of damage, there can be a possibility of people trapped inside, what we’re doing is we’re sending in the dogs,” Zahralban said.
And even firefighters from Fort Myers Beach, who have their own backyards destroyed, are getting back to work alongside them.
This first phase of the mission is all about prioritizing those who need medical attention, but it’s hard not to stop and listen to the stories of those who stayed. Like Donna Oiderma, who said she floated in rushing water with her husband for about five hours.
“We floated inside the home on pool floaties, noodles, and we floated inside the house until we realized the water was so high we might not be able to get out, and so we got the front door opened and we got out and got on top of– our feet were on top of the golf cart there,” Oiderma said. “My husband’s 80, I’m 78, so we don’t really have the strength that we used to have.”
It is hard to think of ways to be positive after hearing that and after seeing all this destruction, but while there was so much heartbreak, there were also moments of goodness.
Fire crews found an American flag relatively unharmed on the road and took a moment to fold it and bring it back with them.
And human detection canines sometimes doubled as emotional support, and families, like this one, are just grateful to be alive after riding out the storm with their kids and losing everything.
“It breaks my heart. We love in this place [and] all our friends are homeless,” said a survivor.
“Yeah,” added a woman, “but we’ll rebuild it. I know we’ll come right back, because we’re FMB strong.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.