Survivor talks about waiting out Ian, now living in shelter

ESTERO, Fla. – More than a week after Hurricane Ian, people are still being rescued with some making their way to shelters like Hertz Arena in Estero, where hundreds are already staying.

But people are anxious to find a more permanent living solution.

Denise Griffin lost everything in Hurricane Ian.

She says when she tried getting off Fort Myers Beach public transportation had stopped.

“I don’t have a car. I always road a bike up and down the island,” she says.

She was left to wait out the storm in a hotel on the beach where she lived.

“Doors were blowin,’ the wind was going. I was so scared, never been so scared in my life I just prayed, ‘Don’t let the building fall.’ "


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After the storm, a friend rescued her.

She waited at the top of a hotel stairwell as the water continued to rise.

Now, she sleeps in the Hertz Arena with about 500 people.

Much like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 where survivors took refuge in Louisiana’s superdome, the Hertz Arena is not a permanent solution.

“They don’t want to stay here forever,” says Jay Lawrence with the American Red Cross.

“They want to get back to their homes or their new home.”

Despite the arena closing in on their capacity of 600, the Red Cross says no one is ever turned away and they will find places for displaced people.

After Katrina, mobile homes provided by the government a transition home for displaced people.

So what is next for Ian survivors? Lawrence says those conversations are happening.

“As weeks go by we will work with them individually to make sure they have case workers so they have a plan?” Lawrence says.

FEMA announcing on Friday THAT survivors who have applied for disaster assistance may be eligible for shelter in a hotel paid for by FEMA.

According to FEMA, close to 4,000 people have been rescued by state and federal teams.

More than $90 million in disaster relief has gone to Ian survivors already.


About the Author:

Bridgette Matter joined the Local 10 News team as a reporter in July 2021. Before moving to South Florida, she began her career in South Bend, Indiana and spent six years in Jacksonville as a reporter and weekend anchor.