Yahoo Finance Florida islanders help each other survive Ian impact
STORY: Four days after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall, residents of this Florida island are relying on each other to get through some tough times.
The category 4 storm destroyed St James City on Pine Island, and wiped out the one road that links it to mainland Florida.
A power blackout remains, and water is only turned on for two hours a day at a low pressure.
“We have a lot of kind-hearted people who pooled together all the resources that they have, you know, from water, from fuel, from meat, you know, from all kinds of supplies. And they've been coming.”
Bee San Lim and her husband set up a satellite internet connection for the community to use the day after the storm hit.
That’s now become the town’s aid station.
It's provided food, water, and supplies to the residents who want to stay in their homes, against government evacuation orders.
Many are frustrated at the lack of help from local, state and federal authorities.
“There’s just so much we can help each other out you know.”
Lim is especially worried about the many elderly folk who stayed put.
“There was this couple right there, a couple of elderly. The husband cannot walk and the wife has dementia. When I talked to them, he said they haven't eaten for like two days...We have peanut butter. And I gave it to him and I was going to grab more stuff, you know, and give it to him. But he rode off. I haven't seen him still. I hope that the couple somehow made it off this island. But, but - that's the concern. How many are there out here still that we haven't seen?”
As floodwaters recede, rescue teams have been able to push farther into areas that have been cut off from the outside world.
But while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday that more than 90 percent of the state’s power was restored, it still faces an enormous disaster recovery effort expected to cost tens of billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, the Hurricane Ian death toll is set to continue rising, having climbed past 85 by Sunday evening, with Florida bearing the brunt of the casualties.
