Pine Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian

I grew up on Pine Island (St. James City). Though I moved away after joining the military, my heart is heavy with the devastation post Hurricane Ian. "Islanders support islanders"! Please don't let the coverage only shine on Sanibel, Captiva, and Fort Myers Beach. Continue to include Matlacha and Pine Island like you all did in this segment. You are doing a great service to the community when equal coverage is distributed for all who are impacted by this storm. Thank you!

UPDATE: I was able to get in touch with a family member and Susan & Jim DID make it off Pine Island. “We have been safely evacuated by Coast Guard to Cape Coral. Staying with friends who have a generator,” is the message sent to me by their family.

My heart is breaking for that mother. Omg I can't imagine. We all need to come together as a community and help

I am a Pine Island Resident stuck off island with my home out there destroyed. We are pine island strong and we survive. Thank you for seeing that. You guys are THE FIRST new channel to make a solid and meaningful story. That may be because it's difficult and that I understand. But you made it happen and for that I thank you. PINE ISLAND STRONG!!!!!!✊️✊️💪💪WE WONT BE FORGOTTEN

I really appreciate hearing this report. So much of the reporting I've watched has been focused on the damage to property, infrastructure, etc. It's good to hear reporting about the people and what they're going through; so many people adversely impacted by this storm! Take care of the people first then take care of the property.

The sad lesson here is when you live at sea level and they tell you to run....'RUN'.

Thank you for focusing on Pine Island. 🙏

Oh my goodness as soon as that woman started talking about her daughter and how her daughter was gone and passed away I just started sobbing uncontrollably. I feel her pain through her voice and I just can't even fathom how much she's going through her and her husband... oh my goodness Thank you so much for giving these people a voice and helping them not feel forgotten.

Thank you for covering Pine Island. Often forgotten since it isn't a multi million dollar island like Captiva.

People, please listen to the emergency warnings when they tell you to evacuate. Especially if you have a medical situation. I live in Florida and if I lived in any of the places along the water that were told to evacuate, without hesitation, I would be calling and looking for a place to go. There are many places to go to protect yourself. They broadcast it regularly there would be no help after the hurricane started. As harsh as this sounds, it is selfish to risk the lives of first responders when you could have evacuated before hand. To think your tough enough to weather out a 150 mph Hurricane is naive.

fuck man i wasn't expecting that lady to say her daughter was gone. ripped my heart to shreds

of the dozens of reports i've seen, this was by far the most well done: sincere, direct, and real upon a pure foundation of humanity. my mom is less than 25 miles from this island, but the devastation here is 5-10 times greater.

Thank you so much for doing this story! My parents have had a place there for many years. They are a resilient community for sure.

Our hearts are heavy for you! With love from Florida!💝🙏💝

Part of the story that was missed for those who aren't familiar with the area, that lady who lost her daughter, unable to get to Cape Coral. Cape Coral is only 5 miles from where she was at. That's how dire the situation is.

Oh man! That poor mom whose daughter died.

My grandparents used to live on Matlacha until the combo of rising taxes and flood insurance was too much for pensioners and moved to Cape Coral before passing in 2017. My great grandmother lived in St James City until she passed about 12 years ago. Seeing those places since the 1970s were wonderful memories of the FL fishing village past that mostly remained up to the early 2000s. Matlacha in particular had added a quaint art district by the mid 2010s, reminded me of Sedona AZ art district. Hard to see the devastation from Ian, and prayers and donations to the FL disaster fund are the least I can offer.

Thank you for telling the story about Pine Island. I have a home in St James city and I'm going down in three weeks. I'm not sure how I'm going to get on the Island yet but I'm taking supplies down and since my boat wasn't damaged I'm going to do what I have to to support my neighbors. We'll get organized and support ourselves if the officials think it's too hard and too much trouble.

That's chilling. I'm in north ft Myers with no water no power I'm filthy and all my clothes are dirty and I had to throw away everything in my fridge but I'm lucky to be alive.

People need to leave, not the time to try and prove anything, just leave! When the rescuers say leave, leave!