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110%er [9234]
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News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 3:17 PM
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The whole area is trashed. Not destroyed completely, but not what it was 2 days ago. The causeway and bridge to Sanibel/Captiva has collapsed in two places and completely washed away in another, which has stranded hundreds or thousand on the island. It will not be an easy or quick repair. Ft Myers Beach was torn up. The pier was totally destroyed - nothing left but the pilings. Many businesses were destroyed or simply washed away. If you've been to Ft Myers Beach, you know that the most common type of housing is not the big mansions like you see on Sanibel, but little one-story old houses or even mobile homes. These have been decimated. Storm surge on Ft Myers Beach was 6-10 ft, swamping single story homes and washing the more mobile types off their foundations or away. Iconic McGregor Blvd in Ft Myers has lost dozens of the old royal palms that line the road. The road won't look the same at all.
My mother, in her early 90s (and who weathered the storm fine with some friends), has a modest old house on the river. We have no idea if it's intact, was flooded, or what. Between a city-wide curfew and obstructed roads, we haven't been able to get anyone there to check on the house and the neighborhood. I know houses are things and can be replaced, but she's in her 90s and this is all that she really has left from my dad/her husband, who passed several years ago (Clemson grad, '58). Lots of family heirlooms are there, and I'm pretty sure no preparations were made to protect them, some of which are over 100 years old.
Anyway, be praying for the people of Ft Myers and that greater area of SW Florida. If you can, give to the Red Cross or the Florida Disaster Fund (https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/), set up by Gov Desantis' wife. There are also options on that web site for volunteers, if any of you are able and willing. Many homes have been destroyed and/or flooded. Days to come will reveal a lot of sad news.
Message was edited by: o2bnclemson®
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All-TigerNet [11483]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 3:23 PM
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Prayers for your mother and those in similar situations.
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Heisman Winner [120894]
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Ts & Ps for your mom and her home!***
Sep 29, 2022, 3:25 PM
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All-TigerNet [11483]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 3:25 PM
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And please keep us posted as you learn more.
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110%er [9234]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 30, 2022, 11:15 AM
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The Mole® We finally got a couple of people to her house yesterday evening. Thankfully, and surprisingly, it was fully intact. It took about 6-8" of water inside, so the interior is covered with mud and muck, but we already have some people in there today tearing out the carpet and then we'll cut back the drywall to start letting things air out and hopefully get no mold or mildew growth. Her next door neighbor had a boat in his backyard - don't know if it was his or someone else's! There were apparently a lot of them that got washed off of their moorings during the storm and ended up drifting freely to wherever.
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CU Medallion [67639]
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Sounds exactly like Folly Beach area after Hugo. So many
Sep 29, 2022, 3:29 PM
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houses, rentals, or apartments were washed completely away, it was totally unrecognizable after the storm. But, somebody always profits. I have a friend in the Charleston area who owns his own Heat / A/C company. He pretty much built himself a new house with profits earned from replacing central units after Hugo. (And he didn't gouge people to do it.)
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110%er [8705]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 3:32 PM
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I hate that Sanibel is cut off, but if there are hundreds of people there who did not evacuate, as they were told too, I hope they are ok and have plenty of food or gas for a boat.
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110%er [6236]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 4:15 PM
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A barrier island is not where you want to ride out a Cat 4 - surely there were not thousands that stayed. I’m losing faith in our education system.
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All-In [26379]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 4:26 PM
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Also remember all of the vehicles are totaled. When saltwater covers the engines, they are done. All this debris has to go somewhere. There will be large burn piles and metal can be recycled but there are tons and tons of debris that can only be landfilled. The water table in Florida is high so landfills can only go so deep. They have a lot of problems.
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110%er [9234]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 4:29 PM
[ in reply to Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island ] |
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The original track, all the way up to a few hours before it hit, had it going north of the Ft Myers area, as far up as Tampa, so very few there thought they would be in the crosshairs like they were. By the time people know that the area could be ground zero, it was too late to get out of the area. Some stayed in the area but stayed further inland or in larger houses with friends or family. It caught a lot of people by surprise and a lot of those people will pay dearly for it.
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CU Guru [1215]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 4:59 PM
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any word on Matlacha?
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110%er [9234]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 30, 2022, 11:12 AM
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KicknthechicknIt's pretty torn up, too. The bridge over to Pine Island is out, like the Sanibel bridge. As a result, there's not a lot of good info from there yet, at least not that I've heard. Most cell coverage is out down there, so you can't get there to see and you can't call to check. Law Enforcement is not even letting people over there by boat yet, I think because things are so hazardous, both on land and even in the water with all the debris out there.
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Hall of Famer [24295]
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In my prayers
Sep 29, 2022, 6:52 PM
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John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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All-TigerNet [10747]
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It's terrible. It was a high end Cat 4. Not much on or
Sep 29, 2022, 7:00 PM
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near the coast is going to stand up to those. Still a catastrophe nonetheless.
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CU Guru [1019]
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Re: News for people familiar with Ft Myers FL and Sanibel Island
Sep 29, 2022, 7:11 PM
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I've went to ft. Myers Beach July 4th week for the past 11 years for vacation. Love it there. Always say wish we could move there. It's so sad what's happened to it.
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