Hurricane Ian destroyed Fort Myers.

() — The Fort Myers area of ​​southwest Florida is devastated by Hurricane Ian.

“It’s horrible,” Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson told ‘s John Berman on Friday morning at the city’s devastated harbor, with its scattered boats and slabs of concrete ripped from the water and thrown into the sea. Earth. “Look at some of these springs. They could weigh up to a ton… and they were thrown around like it was nothing.”

“There are some big ships and they were thrown around like toys.”

Fort Myers Beach, which sits on a 7-mile-long island along the Gulf of Mexico, saw “total, catastrophic devastation,” Fort Myers Beach Councilman Dan Allers said Friday. “Those are the words that come to mind when you see this.”

He also said the photos show the damage but don’t “show the extent of what it is exactly.”

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office described Fort Myers Beach as “impassable” in a Friday morning update.

“We hear you. We understand you have loved ones on the island,” the Sheriff’s Office said, noting it is not safe to drive there. “Bicycles can’t even go through the cleared paths.”

Helicopter footage showed debris and empty lots where homes and other buildings had been leveled in Fort Myers Beach, where only residents were allowed to drive across the bridge Friday morning.

“We are talking about there being no structure left. We’re talking about…houses thrown into the bay. This is a long-term arrangement, and it’s life changing,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Friday that an unknown number of bodies were found at a home in Lee County. Crews will have to wait for the water to recede and special equipment to find out more.

Also this Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Lee County has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for support after experiencing a break in the county’s water main, which means the county has no water at this time.

“I had never seen anything like it”

Bobby Pratt said he has lived in Fort Myers his entire life.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. His roof, porch and fence were damaged.

In the city of Fort Myers, rescuers had reached more than 200 people in the area, and firefighters believe there are no people left to rescue, Anderson said.

Power lines and trees are down, so conditions remain dangerous, and the city is trying to clean up.

“We would like people to stay home,” Anderson said. “It’s not safe out there.”

Allers told ‘s Don Lemon Thursday night that his city was destroyed.

“I would say 90% of the island is gone,” Allers said. “Unless you have a high-rise condo or a newer concrete house that’s built to the same standards as today, your house is pretty much gone.”

Allers told that many people in the city struggled to get to higher ground amid storm surge.

“I’ve heard stories of people who got into freezers and floated the freezers up to another house … and were rescued by higher houses,” Allers said.

“All the beach houses are gone,” Allers told . “Some of the houses on the side streets have completely disappeared, and there is nothing more than a hole with water.”

Allers evacuated to higher ground during the cyclone. She later found out that she had lost her house.
On Friday, he pleaded for federal aid.

“I don’t know if anyone in Washington can hear this: If they can send help, we need it.”

The City of Fort Myers is “constantly responding”

Liz Bello-Matthews, a spokeswoman for the city of Fort Myers, told Friday that security workers are “constantly responding … It’s literally been nonstop.”

The spokeswoman said many residents are struggling, although no one has been reported stranded. There is no internet or electricity, and many sections of the city are without water.

“We keep moving forward and trying to make sure we’re there when they need us,” he said.

Shelters are open, including a large one that is not being used enough, he said.

“The resources are there. They’re still open. We still have resources in those shelters and that’s where we’re directing people to go right now to stay safe if their home is not habitable,” he said.

–Amanda Musa, Rebekah Riess, Sara Smart and Naomi Thomas contributed reporting.