HURRICANE IAN - A Story of Survival

You guys captured some of the best footage of storm surge I’ve ever seen. It displayed perfectly the power and danger of a hurricane, that so many, even here in Florida, completely underestimate. Here in St Petersburg, we were for a time, in the forecasted bullseye of Hurricanes Charley, Irma, and Ian. Those storms either missed us, or at worst delivered just a glancing blow. That had been the case for many years down in Fort Myers Beach too, people become complacent over the years, they stayed, and tragically many of them died. I think anyone who lives in a hurricane evacuation zone should see your video; it will save lives.

My husband and I lived on Matlacha when Ian hit. We didn't get out in time because we couldn't find the cat. We managed to get trapped outside in the surge with no protection. A neighbor pulled a boat to where we were when the eye wall passed and got us to his place. I think the angels we had on us were the same as those around that family and their dogs. No worries, we now live in Iowa with the cat we couldn't find; my husband went back for her, and we're doing good. God Bless to that family on Fort Myers Beach and everyone else that survived.

First time seeing Ian from someone's view besides my own sadly, how the pain and fear still so alive all these months later. I hope all my fellow neighbors, community, and survivors are doing well on their journey to healing. Reading comments has made me realize I don't need carry the pain alone anymore

I rode out Ian at home in Cape Coral, and it was one hairy experience. Much worse than Irma was, and the water was up to my house before it stopped rising. The street was a rapids full of wreckage going by fast. Power went out just after 4:00 and was out for 9 days. I came through it with very little damage, but I know some who lost everything in it. The good Lord was watching over me in that one.

Full time FMB resident that rode out the hurricane on my second floor of my home. We lost the first floor as it washed out into the back bay and the five paid off vehicles. Prayers for all families affected by Hurricane Ian.

Thank you for speaking about Englewood! It was probably one of the hardest hit areas for wind and BARELY got any mention in the news.

I live on the eastern side of Florida, and the mixture of emotions is something we all felt. Gratitude it isn't us, but heartbroken that it's our neighbors to the west. I've went outside during Irma (Cat1) and the wind steals your breath and the energy is inredible. I cannot begin to imagine what this couple and their dogs went through. Their determination to stay alive is incredible.. Thank you for this video; it gives us a real time view into just how bad Ian was.

Moved to fort Myers 2 years ago. Lived here years ago. Experienced a few hurricanes. But nothing like IAN. That was brutal and we lost a lot of people here. It was one for the records. Thanks for sharing what it was like here.

Thank you for making this. I live 4 miles inland and rode out the storm. But I lost my business of 11 years on Fort Myers Beach. This whole thing has been heartbreaking on so many levels.

I have lived in Naples for 40 years and have had many Hurricanes hit our area. Ian was different, and the storm surge predictions changed at 11:00 am. The new mantra is run from the water and hide the wind. When we drove away at 11:00 am the water was rising. We could not return till the next day, till after the storm surge had subsided. Excellent video that captures the fear and horror of storm surge.

In Port Charlotte the surge was just inches from coming into the back lanai and then it stopped and stayed there and then receded. It was like a miracle.

What an incredible story. Thank you for putting this together. I live a bit inland but seeing that house in initial clips sliding off the foundation was devastating. I had no idea they were inside with their dogs. I'm so glad they made it out alive. As a lifelong resident of SW Florida, that storm was the worst I've seen in my lifetime.

My family and I were also on fmb during hurricane Ian. I’m so glad this couple and their dogs are okay. It was the most intense thing I’ve ever been through. We were able to have some neighbors kayak over since our house was up high. Prayers for fmb. ❤️‍🩹Great doc!

This video was riveting and utterly tragic. Thank you for risking your own lives documenting a storm and bringing a glimmer of hope with the story of survival. This is a historic video of a storm which history will remember for generations.

I won't forget the ones we lost💜 but I'm so happy for all of us that survived we went for a ride of a life time

Damn. This is harrowing footage Aaron & Max. I'm so grateful 🙏 you guys made it thru and your friends did too. Seeing this now for the first time has me gutted. I did IRMA relief in Ft Myers. Seeing it gone just did something to me on the inside. There's still people I've not heard from since that I stayed connected with after my journey there. 😢

My whole immediate family lives here in Ft. Myers, there's 4 houses between us and we all rode out the storm. The news was telling us it was a Cat 3, and I've lived in FL all my life so I didn't really think about evacuating. Me and my stepbrother live more inland, nowhere near water, so both of us had minimal damage. My stepsister is in Cape Coral, she had pretty bad roof damage and all her well equipment was gone. My mother is the one that got hit the worst. She lives very close to the water, not the beach but a few canals. She called me mid hurricane yelling that they had to flee the house because the water was inches away from the front door. They were able to make it safe to my stepbrother's house. The next day she told me 'everything is gone!'. I was honestly expecting to find out the house was just gone. That wasn't the case, it was still there, but everything inside was ruined. The storm surge was about 5 feet, you could see the line of water was halfway up the walls. The floor was caked in mud, all the furniture was scattered around and filthy, the bedrooms were disasters. She lost a lot of things she had collected over the years, but at least the house itself was still standing. We've been through plenty of hurricanes but we've never been as impacted as we were after Ian.

This was a wild, insane ride to watch. I honestly got tears in my eyes from imagining what they had to go through in those harrowing moments. Thank you for bringing their story and the intensity of this act of nature to everyone.

We moved to Cape Coral in 2021…was amazed at how much our neighbors helped us prepare and we helped others. After the storm everyone worked together…never saw that in New York….we still love it here …and we were heart broken for those who lost so much …ppl rebuilding …the human spirit at its best ….❤

okay... so I found you from the Mississippi tornado March 2023, but this, this documentary is the best reason that NO ONE should stay with their house in a hurricane. We used to live in Galveston. While we lived there, I educated my children about why we don't stay with a house. We lived there in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. We had moved there to rebuild houses (we own a construction company). So many houses were damaged and so many houses had never tasted the effects of a devastating hurricane and we heard so many stories. But your video highlights WHY you don't stay with a house. Thank you for a job well done.