Even in Springfield, Hurricane Ian touches those with Florida business, family connections

Doug Kent is counting his blessings for now.

The Springfield businessman said late Friday that a three-plex he owns in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, seemingly withstood Hurricane Ian even as businesses hundreds of feet away, including a landmark restaurant, were wiped away.

In Cocoa, Florida, in the central part of the state on the Atlantic side, former Rochester resident Kelsey Shaw and her boyfriend were pinned in their house for two days because of flooding on their street and in their front yard.

The couple lost power for a day, but they also seemed to skirt major damage.

"As the eye wall was coming in Wednesday night, that was probably the scariest part," said Shaw, by phone Friday. "Our windows were shaking. I certainly was concerned."

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At least 45 people have been killed by the storm across the state, though the total will assuredly rise. Search and rescue efforts were underway in the worst-hit areas of Florida.

The destruction was likely to rank among the worst in the nation's history, President Joe Biden told reporters Friday.

Late Friday, the Category 1 hurricane barreled into South Carolina.

Kent, who owns and manages the Burger Bar with his wife, Karen, said he found out through satellite images Friday that his property was still standing.

About 500 to 1,000 feet away, Junkanoo Beach Restaurant, a staple in Fort Myers Beach for more than 20 years, was destroyed.

Kent has owned the property for three years. A management company rents out the rooms to tourists on a weekly basis.

All three of the units were unoccupied when Hurricane Ian hit.

Kent said the building might have been spared because it is situated next to the headquarters for the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department.

"It's a well-constructed building," Kent said. "My thinking is the headquarters is what saved me. A whole row of houses all the way down appears to be in place, but across the street, they're all gone.

"That's the only thing I can attribute to it, that or some kind of wind fluke."

Kent said one of the units is on the main level "which has to be a total loss by virtue of 7- to 9-foot storm surge." The other two units are on an upper level.

Kent said he was unsure about structural damage to the building.

Family members from Springfield traveling to Florida were expected to check out the building next week, he said.

"It's going to take years," Kent said, "to recover from this."

Shaw, who has lived in Florida since moving from Rochester in 2005, said Friday was the first day she was able to get out of house.

"We had at least 10 inches minimum when Ian hit," Shaw said. "It’s been a wet season for Florida. We’re in the middle of our rainy season where we get these almost monsoon-level rains every afternoon. So, when we get 10 inches on already oversaturated soil, it creates washouts.

"Hurricane Irma (in 2017) for me was my worst, but I’ve never seen flooding like I have with Ian. The flooding has been shocking to see."

Shaw, 32, a web content marketing administrator for a 55-plus community outside the Orlando area, said several houses down her street sustained damage.

Shaw said she was buoyed by seeing so many out-of-state crews helping out, including City Water, Light & Power employees.

"When you see (a hurricane) on the news, it doesn’t look real," Shaw admitted. "The worst part of the hurricane is when it’s 2 o’clock in the morning, and the storm is howling outside and you think, 'Do I try to sleep, or do I try to stay up?'

"I’m a big, tough girl and I don’t scare easily, but (Hurricane Ian) had some of the loudest winds I’ve heard in a very long time."

Midwest Mission seeking aid

After sending relief to 14 U.S. disasters this year, including the most recent flooding in Kentucky and St. Louis, supplies at Midwest Mission in Pawnee are low, its executive director said Friday.

"We need help replenishing so we can get supplies to our partners who are ready to deploy the requested supplies (to Florida),” Chantel Corrie said.

The relief agency usually has around 3,000 buckets, including gloves, heavy duty trash bags, plastic bags, dust masks and duct tape, on hand, but is down to under 1,000.

You can donate by texting “Donate” to 855-589-1314 or go to midwestmission.org/donate.

This story will be updated.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Hurricane Ian touches Springfield residents with Florida connections