HURRICANE IAN - A Story of Survival

I rode out Ian at home in Cape Coral, and it was one hairy experience. Much worse than Irma was, and the water was up to my house before it stopped rising. The street was a rapids full of wreckage going by fast. Power went out just after 4:00 and was out for 9 days. I came through it with very little damage, but I know some who lost everything in it. The good Lord was watching over me in that one.

My husband and I lived on Matlacha when Ian hit. We didn't get out in time because we couldn't find the cat. We managed to get trapped outside in the surge with no protection. A neighbor pulled a boat to where we were when the eye wall passed and got us to his place. I think the angels we had on us were the same as those around that family and their dogs. No worries, we now live in Iowa with the cat we couldn't find; my husband went back for her, and we're doing good. God Bless to that family on Fort Myers Beach and everyone else that survived.

First time seeing Ian from someone's view besides my own sadly, how the pain and fear still so alive all these months later. I hope all my fellow neighbors, community, and survivors are doing well on their journey to healing. Reading comments has made me realize I don't need carry the pain alone anymore

Thank you for speaking about Englewood! It was probably one of the hardest hit areas for wind and BARELY got any mention in the news.

We moved to Cape Coral in 2021…was amazed at how much our neighbors helped us prepare and we helped others. After the storm everyone worked together…never saw that in New York….we still love it here …and we were heart broken for those who lost so much …ppl rebuilding …the human spirit at its best ….❤

Full time FMB resident that rode out the hurricane on my second floor of my home. We lost the first floor as it washed out into the back bay and the five paid off vehicles. Prayers for all families affected by Hurricane Ian.

My family and I were also on fmb during hurricane Ian. I’m so glad this couple and their dogs are okay. It was the most intense thing I’ve ever been through. We were able to have some neighbors kayak over since our house was up high. Prayers for fmb. ❤️‍🩹Great doc!

I live on the eastern side of Florida, and the mixture of emotions is something we all felt. Gratitude it isn't us, but heartbroken that it's our neighbors to the west. I've went outside during Irma (Cat1) and the wind steals your breath and the energy is inredible. I cannot begin to imagine what this couple and their dogs went through. Their determination to stay alive is incredible.. Thank you for this video; it gives us a real time view into just how bad Ian was.

I won't forget the ones we lost💜 but I'm so happy for all of us that survived we went for a ride of a life time

Thank you for making this. I live 4 miles inland and rode out the storm. But I lost my business of 11 years on Fort Myers Beach. This whole thing has been heartbreaking on so many levels.

You guys captured some of the best footage of storm surge I’ve ever seen. It displayed perfectly the power and danger of a hurricane, that so many, even here in Florida, completely underestimate. Here in St Petersburg, we were for a time, in the forecasted bullseye of Hurricanes Charley, Irma, and Ian. Those storms either missed us, or at worst delivered just a glancing blow. That had been the case for many years down in Fort Myers Beach too, people become complacent over the years, they stayed, and tragically many of them died. I think anyone who lives in a hurricane evacuation zone should see your video; it will save lives.

Moved to fort Myers 2 years ago. Lived here years ago. Experienced a few hurricanes. But nothing like IAN. That was brutal and we lost a lot of people here. It was one for the records. Thanks for sharing what it was like here.

My whole immediate family lives here in Ft. Myers, there's 4 houses between us and we all rode out the storm. The news was telling us it was a Cat 3, and I've lived in FL all my life so I didn't really think about evacuating. Me and my stepbrother live more inland, nowhere near water, so both of us had minimal damage. My stepsister is in Cape Coral, she had pretty bad roof damage and all her well equipment was gone. My mother is the one that got hit the worst. She lives very close to the water, not the beach but a few canals. She called me mid hurricane yelling that they had to flee the house because the water was inches away from the front door. They were able to make it safe to my stepbrother's house. The next day she told me 'everything is gone!'. I was honestly expecting to find out the house was just gone. That wasn't the case, it was still there, but everything inside was ruined. The storm surge was about 5 feet, you could see the line of water was halfway up the walls. The floor was caked in mud, all the furniture was scattered around and filthy, the bedrooms were disasters. She lost a lot of things she had collected over the years, but at least the house itself was still standing. We've been through plenty of hurricanes but we've never been as impacted as we were after Ian.

That family story is crazy.. imagine seeing your neighbors house floating next to yours and basically a freaking ocean in your front lawn.. inane.. i did not finish the video yet but i hope the dogs made it also and good thing they got prepared and was ready, it probably saved them Incredible story man!!! I can bet some ppl would have just left the dogs behind to make sure they save themselves (which those type of ppl are terrible i know it definitely happens) but you guys are heros man and have REAL heart!!!! Smart thinking with the life vest and everything they did

Damn. This is harrowing footage Aaron & Max. I'm so grateful 🙏 you guys made it thru and your friends did too. Seeing this now for the first time has me gutted. I did IRMA relief in Ft Myers. Seeing it gone just did something to me on the inside. There's still people I've not heard from since that I stayed connected with after my journey there. 😢

Amazing. I had seen the original viral video but didn't know the full story (except I recall reading that the house's occupant had made it) I'm so glad they're OK. Kudos to them for sharing their story to help others escape a similar ordeal. I have a fair number of followers on some social media channels, and I'm going to bookmark this so I can post it before big storms with expected surges. . This is such a powerful video showing both the true strength of a strong hurricane and the destructiveness and danger of storm surge. Also I think you were rash to go south — you could've been killed driving in the storm? — but unlike a lot of storm chaser videos it really shows how dangerous it is to be out, even for you guys. I think some people who see weather channel and storm chaser videos think "well if they can stay I can stay" and don't realize — you're mobile in a way residents aren'. You scout and choose where to make a stand, plan escape routes, are monitoring the storm with wx experience and know when to bail, know what kinds of walls to get behind and on which side to avoid the wind, and have a storm shelter fsllbsck position. Homeowners are stuck in a house rhey don't want to leavd.

This video was riveting and utterly tragic. Thank you for risking your own lives documenting a storm and bringing a glimmer of hope with the story of survival. This is a historic video of a storm which history will remember for generations.

All of my hurricanes have been inland (Kate, Michael, Hermine, etc.) The most rain I have ever seen in my life was in Fay. But I have seen nothing like the surge from Ian.

What an incredible story. Thank you for putting this together. I live a bit inland but seeing that house in initial clips sliding off the foundation was devastating. I had no idea they were inside with their dogs. I'm so glad they made it out alive. As a lifelong resident of SW Florida, that storm was the worst I've seen in my lifetime.

Thanks for the link to Tod’s go fund me. That’s a valiant effort and was happy to help a fellow FL resident. That was one nasty storm and I’ve been through a few. Great job capturing its impact and providing footage that can help folks truly visualize what those beasts are like. Cheers