'I've never had devastation like that': Johnsonville truck driver delivered 160,000 pounds of supplies to Florida communities hit by Hurricane Ian.

SHEBOYGAN FALLS - Dave Greene, a truck driver with Johnsonville, drove 2,000 miles to Florida to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which has been deemed one of the most devastating storms to hit the U.S.

After driving to Orlando, Florida, on a delivery route, Greene used a week of vacation on Oct. 5 to Oct. 9 to transport 160,000 pounds of supplies, like water, sanitary items, Johnsonville sausages and Meals Ready to Eat, to points of distribution for communities hit hardest.

He worked with United Cajun Navy, a disaster relief organization, Global Citizen and Farm Share to stock the Johnsonville 18-wheeler with supplies to deliver along Florida’s southwest coast on multiple trips, stopping in places like Naples and Pine Island.

“All of those other volunteers, they’re doing a great thing," Greene said. "They’re all using their arms, their backs, their time off, everything. And the way I kind of look at it is, I’ve only got two arms, I can do so much. But then with the use of that truck and trailer, I was in a unique position, through Johnsonville, to move millions of times more stuff than I could with these arms.”

Todd Terrell, president of United Cajun Navy, said Greene’s help was a “blessing” because transportation costs are expensive for the organization, especially now with high gas prices.

“We need volunteers,” he said. “You know, companies like Johnsonville that step up to help volunteer with product and also transportation."

Hurricane Ian’s aftermath is ‘sobering’

As the Category 4 Atlantic hurricane hit Fort Myers and islands Pine Island, Captiva and Sanibel with 150 mph winds at the end of September, many residents were unable to evacuate in time because the storm was predicted to hit north in Tampa.

By the time the storm changed course, there was nowhere to go, Terrell said.

“It's not like New Orleans or Baton Rouge and Texas, where you got a lot of choices,” he said. “In Florida, you got the coast, the center of the state, the east coast or head north and go to another state.”

The storm snapped power and telephone lines, tore roofs from people’s houses and damaged the mainland bridge to Matlacha and Pine Island, leaving those on the island stranded with no water, food or power.

More:On devastated Pine Island after Ian, everyone should probably leave. They aren’t.

“We were rescuing people, like literally pulling people out of houses for maybe six days,” Terrell said. “People that were stuck in their homes, or they went to the second or third floor of their condo.”

More than 4,000 people were rescued by search-and-rescue efforts from entities like FEMA, Florida Coast Guard and organizations like United Cajun Navy.

When the bridge was rebuilt, Greene was able to make it through to Pine Island to deliver supplies. He said what he saw was “sobering.”

“The houses are just gone,” Greene said. “There’s piers. You can see where houses and buildings were, but there’s nothing there. It’s like either the storm surge or the hurricane took it, and then it just carried it somewhere else, and it’s gone. It’s out in the ocean or destroyed — it’s gone.”

In Fort Myers, water levels rose to more than 7 feet when the storm surge hit land, picking up boats from the water and destroying homes and belongings.

“Most of the neighbors have everything in their house already out at the curb,” Greene said. “All their furniture, carpet, sheet rock, everything.”

Greene checked on his friend’s mom, 80, and her boyfriend, 77, at their home in Fort Myers after they escaped the rising water levels. They had to kick out a window when the water rose to 6 feet in their house and were swept out to their boat on a nearby canal.

“The whole place is just destroyed,” he said. “There’s mud 2 inches thick all over the floor. ... I didn’t expect the mud. I guess the water has a lot of debris and dirt and everything in it, and when it settles it just leaves all that mud covering everything.”

Florida’s residential and commercial property damage from the storm’s winds and flooding is estimated to be between $40 billion and $64 billion, according to CoreLogic, Inc., a property and ownership data provider.

Some residents are living in their homes with a generator, others with family, in motorhomes or hotels, Terrell said.

“But that can't go on forever,” he said.

Residents may also be coping with grief of loved ones who died in the storm, with officials estimating the death toll at 130.

“Every person had a large amount of people who cared about them,” Greene said. “All those people are affected. It's not just the people that are lost.”

Residents, organizations continue relief efforts

With local efforts, Cajun Navy volunteers coming from all over the country and people like Greene coming to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Terrell said, “Sometimes I think this is God’s way of bringing people together.”

Right after the storm hit, residents, fire and sheriff departments and organizations like the Cajun Navy lent helping hands, helping evacuate, clear roads, and provide food and shelter.

More:Amid 'gut-wrenching' destruction from Ian, Florida barrier island residents band together

Since then, the United Cajun Navy has shifted its focus from gathering nonperishable food items to gathering items like tarps, rakes and shovels, building materials and baby supplies, Terrell said. Volunteers are also helping people go back to their houses to haul trash and find valuable items and medical records.

The Cajun Navy will likely be in Florida at least through the beginning of next year, and Greene is hoping to go down to help again.

“I’ve never had devastation like that,” Greene said. “A lot of us are very blessed to have what we need, and we have the ability to do things like that. A lot of people don’t have that ability to give, and I did.”

You can support the Cajun Navy’s relief efforts in southwest Florida through monetary donations at https://unitedcajunnavy.org/your-giving-matters/ or supply donations from its Amazon wish list by searching "United Cajun Navy Hurricane IAN."

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Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner. 

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Johnsonville truck driver delivers supplies after Hurricane Ian