On Saturday, volunteers and paramedics with a group that rescues victims of natural disasters went doortodoor in support of a volunteer rescue team. Florida’s devastated Pine Island,Offer to evacuate residents who described the horror of riding out Hurricane Ian in flooded houses and howling winds.
The largest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, Pine Island has been largely cut off from the outside world. Ian severely damaged the island’s only bridge, making it only accessible by air or boat. The volunteers from the non profit Medic Corps were for many the first time they saw outside the island in days.
Residents describe the terror of being trapped inside their homes as water kept rising.Joe Conforti was emotional as he recalled what had happened. He said that the water rose to at least 8-10 feet (22.4-3 meters) and that there were waves of 4 feet (1.2-meters) in the streets.
“The water just kept pounding the house and we watched, boats, houses — we watched everything just go flying by,” he said, as he fought back tears. “We’ve lost so much at this point.”
Helen Koch, a dog-breeder, is evacuated on a helicopter with 17 of her dogs for mediccorps.org. The helicopter arrived with two paramedics and volunteers in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Florida’s Saturday Oct. 1, 2022.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Conforti stated that if it weren’t for Dawn Conforti, Conforti wouldn’t have made the trip. He said: “I started to lose sensibility, because when the water’s at your door and it’s splashing on the door and you’re seeing how fast it’s moving, there’s no way you’re going to survive that.”
To keep them from getting hurt, he said that his wife made them sit on top of a table. Get swept away in the water.He said that the next day they brought food to the elderly gentleman from the next block. They also made sure to get him off of the island by getting him on the first boat they could find.
Joe Conforti stated that the man had “lost everything”. “He said that if we didn’t bring him the food, he was going to take his life that night because it was so bad.”
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Members of mediccorps.org arrived with paramedics, helicopters, and volunteers to help Paul Koch and his dogs in the aftermath Hurricane Ian, Florida, Saturday Oct. 1, 2022.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Some residents even shed their tears Medic Corps volunteersThe police arrived at their homes and asked them if they wanted to be evacuated by Saturday. Some refused the offer and requested another day to pack their belongings. Others were eager to leave immediately.
Helen Koch blew her husband a kiss and mouthed the words “I love you” as she sat inside the Medic Corps helicopter that lifted her and seven of the couple’s 17 dogs to safety from the decimated island. The helicopter was taking off with the dogs in their cages.
Paul Koch, her husband, was able to stay behind with the dogs and plan to return to the island on a second visit. According to The Associated Press, he said that he didn’t believe they would make it as the hurricane raged. The house also began to flood. Take on water.
In the wake of Hurricane Ian on Saturday, October 1, 2022, the bridge connecting Fort Myers and Pine Island, Florida is severely damaged.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Pine Island is well-known for its small-town, peaceful atmosphere and mangrove trees. It is a popular spot for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. Now, bleak Scenes of destructionThey are all around this broken paradise.
Many houses have been reduced to pieces and boats have been thrown onto the roads. The island has no power, and no running water – save for a few hours on Friday when one resident said they were able to take a shower. A community of mobile home communities was destroyed.
Volunteers from the Medic Corps went to one house in search of a woman known to have stayed behind during a storm and had not been in touch with her friends since. Inside the woman’s house, heavy furniture had been toppled over and her belongings were tossed about. There was There was no sign of the woman.She was afraid she was being sucked out her home by the surge, raising concerns.
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The bridge linking Fort Myers with Pine Island, Fla. was heavily damaged in Hurricane Ian’s aftermath, Saturday Oct. 1, 2022.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Linda Hanshaw said the tight-knit island community is amazing and “everyone I know who hasn’t left is trying to leave.”
But that wasn’t true for everyone. Kathleen Russell was trying to persuade her elderly husband to leave, but he didn’t want to budge just yet. They refused to leave. They said that they weren’t ready but could be open to leaving on Sunday.
Claire St. Leger claimed that nine people were in her house at the time of the storm, including neighbours.
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She said, “I thought for certain we were all going to die,” “I just sat in an inner room with pillows. I crossed myself so many time, I thought for certain we were dying.” Water kept rising.”
Medic Corps is a non-profit organization that includes pilots, paramedics and doctors. a Navy SEALand other volunteers who help with natural disasters and getting people to safety. According to the organization’s website, it began in 2013 in response to Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines and in 2017 it began deploying aircraft and responders to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
