PHOTOS: As search goes on, Floridians await OK to survey Ian's wrath
William Wellema drove all the way from New Jersey to Florida's Gulf Coast to see if his vacation home on Fort Myers Beach survived Hurricane Ian. But after four days, he's still waiting for permission to cross the bridge to Estero Island. His wait is a reminder that the death toll from the storm, already at 101, could still grow. Fort Myers Beach officials have said allowing more people onto the island would hinder their efforts to search for those injured and killed in the storm. Florida has recorded 92 storm-related deaths so far. Five people were also killed in North Carolina, three in Cuba and one in Virginia.
In this photo shot with a drone, shrimp boats lie grounded atop what was a mobile home park, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Crew work together to prepare two less damaged shrimp boats to get back out on the water quickly, after most of the fleet at Erickson & Jensen Seafood was grounded or heavily damaged by the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
The "Night Wind" lies grounded against the second story of an apartment building, now missing its first story,on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Boat crew Shawn Shelton and Doug Fundak, along with Shelton's dog Lucky, rode the storm out on "Night Wind," as surge waters and wind carried it onshore and then into the apartment building. After the storm, many in the local shrimp industry find themselves not only out of work, but also homeless, with most of the boats where they lived aboard left stranded on dry ground or heavily damaged.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Shrimp boat workers Shawn Shelton, left, and Doug Fundak relax next to the tent where they are living since the boat they worked on was grounded and Shelton's trailer was destroyed, at Erickson & Jensen Seafood on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. The pair, along with Shelton's dog Lucky, rode the storm out on "Night Wind," as surge waters and wind carried it onshore and then into an apartment building. After the storm, many in the local shrimp industry find themselves not only out of work, but also homeless, with most of the boats where they lived aboard left stranded on dry ground or heavily damaged.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Fishing rods and gear recovered by a small commercial fisherman whose two boats were destroyed in the passage of Hurricane Ian, sit on a wharf in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Michael Etwaru walks underneath two grounded shrimp boats, which relocated to Fort Myers Beach last year from Guyana along with their crews, as workers take advantage of the grounding to scrape barnacles from the boats' hulls, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Lorie Longi, 54, climbs through the window of what had been her second story apartment, now resting on the ground, as she tries to salvage water-soaked belongings from inside following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Snowbird William Wellema talks about his frustration at not being allowed on to the island to survey what remains of his trailer and recover whatever he can, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Wellema drove down from New Jersey after the storm, but arrived to find the access bridge closed to all but emergency personnel. After four days living out of his car, he is considering crossing by kayak at night. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Michael Etwaru scrapes barnacles from the hull of a boat, as workers find a silver lining to the grounding caused by Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Lorie Longi, 54, left, looks on as her boyfriend climbs through the window of what was her second story apartment, as they try to salvage water-soaked belongings from inside following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Snowbird William Wellema, who would spend six months a year at his trailer in Red Coconut mobile home park on Estero Island, tears up as he talks about his frustration at not being allowed on to the island to survey what remains of his trailer and recover whatever he can, after Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Wellema drove from New Jersey after the storm, but arrived to find the access bridge closed to all but emergency personnel. After four days living out of his car, he’s considering crossing by kayak at night. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Shrimp boat worker Michael Etwaru of Guyana is seen through the propeller of a grounded boat, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Shrimp boat workers pass the time alongside piles of clothes and shoes donated to help the many members of the community who lost everything, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, at Erickson & Jensen Seafood on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. After the storm, many in the local shrimp industry find themselves not only out of work, but also left homeless, with most of the boats where they lived aboard left stranded on dry ground or heavily damaged.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Michele Bryant, a shrimp boat third man who sprained her ankle climbing down from her boat over debris following the passage of Hurricane Ian, folds clothes donated to help the many members of the shrimper community who lost everything, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, at Erickson & Jensen Seafood on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. After the storm, many in the local shrimp industry, including Bryant, find themselves not only out of work, but also left homeless, with the boats where they lived aboard left stranded on dry ground or heavily damaged.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
David Newcomb, who had worked as an assistant on the docks at Erickson & Jensen Seafood but now says he will return to Texas, sits in front of piles of clothing donated to help those in the shrimping community who lost everything, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. After the storm, many in the local shrimp industry find themselves not only out of work, but also left homeless, with most of the boats where they lived aboard left stranded on dry ground or heavily damaged.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Members of the boating community help each other out by ferrying supplies include water and fuel, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
In this photo shot with a drone, a group of shrimp boats is left grounded following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos
Fishing rods recovered by a small commercial fisherman whose two boats were destroyed in the passage of Hurricane Ian, sit on a wharf in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Photo by: AP Photos