Massachusetts residents worry about property in hurricane-ravaged Florida
Massachusetts residents with property in southwest Florida and connections to the area are worried about the destruction left behind from Hurricane Ian.
The powerful Category 4 storm came onshore Wednesday, trapping people in flooded homes, destroying a historic waterfront pier and knocking out power to 2.5 million people.
A carport in Cape Coral that is part of Jan Kemmit's property was ripped off its cement footings and tossed into the parking lot.
Kemmit was born and raised in South Boston and spends the winters in Cape Coral.
She said all of the apartments on the first floor of her building were flooded.
Kemmet's apartment is on the second floor, and it fared well despite the 100 mph winds. She said there is no power in the area, and people are limiting their time on their cell phones to talk to family and friends.
There's no word on when power will be restored as crews from more than 30 states start to descend on southwest Florida to help.
Ian turned streets into rivers and blew down trees as it slammed into the region.
A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally live. How many heeded mandatory evacuation orders before the storm surge washed over the island wasn't known.
South of Sanibel, 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 commissioner in Collier County, which includes Naples.