from Hurricane in reached 47, a number that is expected to climb
President Biden first Lady Jill Biden will visit the state on Wednesday
after a visit to Puerto Rico. Tomorrow. The island is still reeling
in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. For both Puerto Rico and Florida.
Recovery is now the primary focus.
The sounds of hurricane recovery echoed around Fort Myers, as the
first heavy machinery got to work clearing storm debris. For now,
the Florida Air National Guard is moving the wreckage into piles
to clear the streets.
The task at hand is enormous across southwest Florida, given the
sheer scale of devastation from Ian
Bridges destroyed trees and lampposts tossed into pools gutted hotels.
Damage estimates go as high as $100 billion.
With 850,000 people still without electricity. The U. S Army has
set up distribution sites for bottled water and food.
Anderson a recent transplant from Illinois, among those pleading
for help. We have no power, no phone service, nothing.
So we just like a little help Blood like little help to get my home
back in shape because I have nowhere to go
home.
Rescue
decimated Sanibel Island Rescue operations continue today. Your son
sent us. We'll arrest you organization. Some are volunteers helping
concerned family members. So we got this one clear
of 16, 28 and 68.
Others are with the fire department going door to door checking for
signs of life. You see people chipping in getting paid for it.
People whose whose homes are destroyed but they're helping
Pine Island rescue operations arrived on the largest barrier island
on Florida's Gulf Coast, where the storm was ferocious.
The water was at least 8 to 10 ft. High for sure, and there was four
ft waves in the streets.
And the water just kept pounding the house and we watched.
I watched everything just flying by
Yes, a
point ahead of the National Guard said there have been more than
1000 rescues along Florida's southwest coast alone.
For more on the recovery in Florida. I'm joined by Nick Picota. He's
the vice mayor of Venice, which is about an hour south of Tampa.
It's great to have you with us. And when we last spoke with you on
the news hour on Thursday, you told us that there was standing water
in roadways, water and people's homes. People were without power
without cell phone service. What's the situation there today?
Showing Venice. We're actually doing a lot better. We've got quite
a bit of power back. We've got a good cell service. Um, there's some
cell towers that have been brought in some mobile cell towers so
that people can at least reach family outside of the area and let
them know they're doing okay. Um, not as much standing water. Some
of our rivers did crest early this morning about four a.m.. So we
did have some some outlying areas that had some major flooding and
to the south of us in the south end of the county. There's there's
still a lot of standing water and hoping overseas over the next few
Days. Um, so you know, in all, I think we're doing pretty good right
now.
How is the recovery effort progressing And do you? Do you have a
sense yet of of what the rebuilding process will encompass? Yeah.
So basically, you know, our state government, the Florida Division
of Emergency Management has been fantastic. We've got points of distribution
set up in the county. The federal government has been giving them
what they need to give to us, Um, you know, and then now it's just
going to be a matter of seeing how things go with FEMA and and and
everyone getting the support that they need for the rebuilding.
But I would say it's been a great response. And this could have been
could have been a lot longer to get power and self service where
we are. What's your message to Florida residents who have been displaced
by the storm? You know, I I think it's tragic and I just want everyone
to know we will come back from this. You know Florida's been hit
by hurricanes over the years and and one thing about Floridians is
they're very resilient people. They're they're very powerful and
we will come back from this. We will build back stronger and
Um, just remember Florida strong.
Nick Dakota is the vice mayor of Venice, Florida Nick our best to
you and everyone living in the affected parts of Florida. Thank you