Kay Mills is a long-time Fort Myers resident who was caring for her brother and her dog, Emma Jean, when Hurricane Ian made landfall in South Florida over a month ago. “We couldn’t leave once the storm really started because the refrigerator had fallen and that blocked our only exit,” says Mills, “we didn’t get out until the day after the storm passed. I grabbed my brother and Emma Jean and we floated through so much water on an inflatable [raft] to safety. We eventually went to stay in the Florida Keys”.
Kay and her family returned to their destroyed home after a week had passed. She says to no surprise, the Red Cross was on the scene assisting families who had returned to what was left of their homes. “The Red Cross has come by every day since I got back, several times a day serving hot food. I’m thankful for you guys. We all are”.
In a neighborhood up the road from Linda Loma, Tiffany Triana, her husband, and four children with autism did not evacuate because it was too late once they realized the storm was a Category 4. Having experienced many hurricanes in her life as a Fort Myers native, she had never seen anything like Hurricane Ian. “It was the longest hurricane ever it seems like. When the water was low enough, we opened the door, the water gushed out and so did most of our stuff. The pile over there on the curb is 98% of our life.” Triana and her family along with their two dogs and cat are now sharing a trailer and a tent outside of their home until all damage to their home is repaired. They depend on hot meals and water from the American Red Cross. “You guys were the first ones here. The news was calling us the forgotten neighborhood because they thought nobody was coming.”
Tiffany shared that the Red Cross came through her neighborhood immediately after the storm to serve food and offer rides to shelters. Although she declined to go to a shelter, Triana expressed through tears how grateful her family is for the Red Cross and all the support her family has received. “It makes you feel like somebody’s there. Sometimes that’s more important than anything.”
The American Red Cross is continuing to assist hundreds of Florida residents that have been affected by Hurricane Ian. To learn more about what we are doing, visit redcross.org.
Written by Jerrica Williams, American Red Cross