(CNN) — After Hurricane Ian destroyed communities in Florida, rescue teams going door-to-door looking for survivors are reporting more deaths, and residents struggling with the losses face a long and daunting recovery.
As of Monday, at least 101 people had died from Hurricane Ian in Florida, 54 of them in Lee County alone. Ian also claimed the lives of four people in North Carolina.
Ian hit Florida as a raging Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday of last week. Days later, there are residents of island communities cut off from the mainland, hundreds of thousands without power, and people who have been left homeless.
In some cases, government officials dealing with recovery efforts are among those who lost their homes.
Fort Myers Beach City Councilman Bill Veach said his 90-year-old farmhouse is in ruins, with only a section left standing that was a recent addition. Pieces of his house were found two blocks away, he said.
“When you walk through the ruins, it’s an apocalyptic scene,” Veach said of her neighborhood.
Still, even amidst the rubble, there have been moments of hope, he said.
“You see a friend that you weren’t sure if he was alive or dead and that gives you joy. A joy that is far greater than the loss of property,” added Veach.
Damage to Bill Veach’s home in Fort Myers Beach.
Rescuers from across the state have flown in boats and planes to help trapped residents. More than 1,900 people have been rescued as of Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis said during a news conference.
Some residents who were anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones have received unimaginable news.
Elizabeth McGuire’s family said the last time they spoke to her was on Wednesday and that they had been having trouble reaching her. On Friday they learned that the 49-year-old woman had been found dead in her Cape Coral home.
Police told his family he died in his bed holding his cell phone and it appeared he died instantly, his son Andrew Chedester said.
McGuire’s mother, Susan McGuire, said the destruction from the storm “is massive.”
“A hundred snowstorms won’t cost you what a hurricane will,” said Susan McGuire, who moved to Florida from Maryland a few years ago. “My husband’s business has gone under, my daughter is dead… A snowstorm has never taken anything away from me.”
There are “uninhabitable” houses on islands isolated from the mainland, with “alligators wading” around
On Sanibel Island, now cut off from the Florida mainland following Ian destroyed a portion of the road connecting them, every home shows damage, Sanibel Fire Chief William Briscoe said.
“There are many places that are not habitable. There are places outside of its foundation, and it’s very dangerous out there,” Briscoe said. “There are alligators wading through and there are snakes everywhere.”
Crews have evacuated 1,000 people from Sanibel since Hurricane Ian hit the island, according to Briscoe.
A similar situation is playing out on nearby Pine Island, the largest barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Just a few days ago, it was a laid-back fishing and kayaking destination known for its small-town atmosphere. Now it is a disaster scene, with cracked roads and destroyed houses.
Ian destroyed the only bridge to Pine Island, making it only accessible by boat or plane.
Supplies are now being airdropped to the island by helicopter as some residents have chosen to stay, officials said.
“Food is being delivered on Pine Island. Now, is that enough to sustain them for a long period of time? I can’t say that yet, none of us can,” Lee County Administrator Roger Desjarlais said Monday.
Emergency physician Dr. Ben Abo, who joined rescuers on Pine Island, said crews are running into residents who denied the storm would hit the area and are now running low on supplies.
“I see a lot of despair, but I also see hope,” Abo said. “I am seeing urban search and rescue, fire rescue, bringing hope to people that we are going to get through this. But we have to do it in stages.”
Work is underway to install a temporary bridge to Pine Island and the goal is to complete it by the end of the week, DeSantis said Monday.
“This is not necessarily going to be a bridge that you want to go 70 km/h maybe, but at least you will have connectivity to the mainland,” the governor said.
The National Guard will also send power crews to Sanibel and Pine Islands to begin work on restoring power.
Power may not be restored in Fort Myers Beach for 30 days due to damage to electrical infrastructure, according to Desjarlais.
He painted a bleak picture of the area, describing thousands of destroyed boats and vessels that ended up in yards, in mangrove swamps, and sunk in shallow water and environmental hazards from leaking diesel and fuel.
Members of the Florida Army National Guard assist Tim Tuitt (L) and John Davis as they are evacuated from Fort Myers Beach Monday in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
It is not clear how many are still missing following the passage of Hurricane Ian
After Ian crashed onto the west coast of Florida, a Naples man walked through more than a half mile of flooding to save his 85-year-old mother.
Johnny Lauder, a former police officer, told CNN he sprang into action following his mother, who uses a wheelchair, called in a panic and said water was rushing into their house and was up to her chest. .
The man arrived home and found her up to her neck in water, but happy to see her son.
“The water was up to the windows and I heard her screaming inside,” Lauder said. “It was a shock and a sigh of relief at the time: a shock thinking that she might be hurt; a sigh of relief knowing there was still air in his lungs.”
Lauder was able to get her mother to safety when the floodwaters began to recede.
It is unclear how many people are still missing following the storm. Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said authorities are working to consolidate a list of the missing.
Tonia Werner is one of the people waiting for news regarding a loved one. It’s been three days since she heard anything regarding her father, David Park, who was admitted to ShorePoint ICU in Port Charlotte days before Hurricane Ian made landfall.
“As of Friday he was on a ventilator and that is the last contact,” Tonia told CNN. “No phones, nothing. I don’t even know if he’s alive. I’ve reached out every way I can think of, begging for information because we’re stuck. And there’s no way to get to him.”
Tonia lives regarding an hour from Port Charlotte and can’t get to the area because of flooding in Arcadia, which has blocked access for anyone to cross the city, she said.
Hospitals in Florida have been experiencing “significant pressure” on capacity since Ian hit the peninsula, said Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.
Emergency departments suffered damage, staffing suffered as many hospital workers were displaced or lost their vehicles in the hurricane, and facilities lost reliable access to water.
Hospitals also don’t often discharge patients who have no place to go, either their homes have been damaged by the storm or their nursing homes have been evacuated and temporarily closed.
— CNN’s Amanda Musa, Amy Simonson, Christina Zdanowicz, Jamiel Lynch, Carma Hassan, Nadia Romero and Jaide Garcia contributed to this report.
