Special Report from WUFT News
PINE ISLAND, Fla. – Chris Murphy backs up his pickup truck, drops his boat into the water and fires up the engine. It’s something he said he does just about every weekend. “Probably getting ready to go on the lake and do some wake surfing,” Murphy said. “That’s pretty much …
Read More »Produce stand owner vows to rebuild his business with what remains after Hurricane Ian
IONA, Fla. — Since 2014, John Terlep has owned his produce stand. A staple of the area, Pair-A-Dice Produce has been passed down through four generations of owners in its 80 years in business. Terlep, who previously worked as a wholesale produce seller, said he told the stand’s previous owner …
Read More »Treading water: Marina devastated after Hurricane Ian
Downtown Fort Myers is often regarded as one of the top destinations for boat living and leisure. Now this boater’s paradise is devastated. Charles Suroski has worked at Legacy Harbour Marina in downtown Fort Myers for about 10 years. In the 19 years he’s lived in Fort Myers, he said …
Read More »Woman returns to Pine Island after Hurricane Ian to find her community unrecognizable
PINE ISLAND, Fla. – Leyli Ramos and her husband usually load their trailer bed with lawn mowing equipment. Now, it’s packed with their neighbors. It’s serving as a makeshift bus, shuttling newly arrived Pine Island residents to their homes and workplaces after Hurricane Ian. Family, friends and strangers sit shoulder …
Read More »Relief organization helps residents with basic needs after Hurricane Ian
NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. – Tamara Searcy understood what a living nightmare was like after Hurricane Ian flipped her community upside down. “It was real, real bad,” Searcy said. “It was times that I was praying…I had to push the dresser behind the window like ‘Lord, please don’t let the …
Read More »Couple reconnects, cleans up after Hurricane Ian
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Elaine Livingston, 74, paced up and down her sidewalk. Tears streamed down her face, her hands shaking as she prepared to find out the worst. “I’ve been crying and breaking down probably every hour on the hour,” she said. Livingston returned to her Fort Myers home …
Read More »Woman loses home to hurricane for the second time
Getting hit by a hurricane once is bad luck. But getting hit twice by a hurricane is tragic. And unfortunately, tragedy is the reality 69-year-old Mirella Jimenez is living with after Hurricane Ian swept through her North Fort Myers community. “It’s very sad,” Jimenez said through tears. “It’s very sad …
Read More »