There is a stretch of mobile homes, townhouses, and condominiums covered in knee-deep flood waters.
She watched her neighbors as they tried to get back to normal. After Hurricane Ian, she wondered how her home in the nearby Iona Ranch mobile home would fare.
I think my loss will be a total loss. If it's gone, it's the only house I have.
She went off the beaten path.
Fort Myers Beach was where the Stough brothers made their living. It has been completely destroyed.
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Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on Florida's coastline, and Fort Myers Beach was one of the hardest hit. The town was torn apart by a storm surge and 150 mph winds when it made landfall.
The city of Fort Myers has a population of more than 92,000. Fort Myers Beach, a small coastal town filled with beach-side bars and hotels and resorts, sits on skinny Estero Island, making it more vulnerable as Ian made his way through the area. The town has a lot of people.
Some of the first places to be hit by the storm were the cities and towns. Ian's grip is still holding on to some areas of the state. The storm is likely to be deadly and costly, according to local officials and the president.
Ian regains strength as it moves towards South Carolina.
The Stoughs sheltered on the third floor of the beach club. They had a good view of the chaos from the front row. The waves demolished the lower floors of buildings and carried away vehicles. The car flew.
The storm surge stripped the first floor of the vacation spot.
He said there wasn't anything there. The beach is no longer there.
The boats were ripped from their storage yards the previous night. The marina buildings were destroyed close to the Matanzas Pass Bridge. The bridge was unsafe to cross, so sheriff's deputy blocked access to the island.
The houses on San Carlos Island were destroyed by the wind and water. The boat was pulled out of the driveway by the storm. The residents looked shell-shocked as they began the monumental task of cleaning up.
The Stoughs said they would move somewhere else.
We don't have anything here for us. We no longer have jobs. We lost our car. He said there wasn't anything open. It will take two years to get this thing back into shape.
Damage caused by Hurricane Ian can be seen in Florida.
A chunk of the causeway connecting Sanibel Island to Florida's mainland fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island.
The destruction was close to total. There are rows of houses surrounded by water from the storm surge and some with damaged or missing roofs.
The governor of Florida said that Sanibel was destroyed by the storm surge.
Efforts were being made to bring those who remained on the island to safety.
The historic beachfront pier in Naples was destroyed. There is no pier right now.
Stan Pentz heard the noise of the storm hitting his Iona Ranch mobile home. The water burst through his sliding doors as it rose up the canals outside. Pentz tried to get out of his home, which was quickly filling with water.
He was dragged up and around his house by the current for three hours. He was able to swim towards a building for shelter after the debris slammed into him.
He's already been to his house to try to save what he can, but it's pointless since it's all underwater.
This is how you can help those affected by Hurricane Ian.
The Associated Press contributed to the story.
The article originally appeared on USA TODAY.
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