Julio Rodriguez shows hurricane damage to Cape Coral
Alex: Julio Rodriguez is a deaf man from Cape Coral, Florida who went through a direct impact from Hurricane Ian.
(Video clip showing Julio standing outside in front of a tree that is broken and stripped of its leaves. There is debris on the lawn from damaged fences or shutters.)
Julio Rodriguez, CEO of SquareGlow:
Really, wow! I’m still shocked that Hurricane Ian really did hit my city, Cape Coral, Florida, really bad.
I’m doing okay. I’ve inspected my house and it’s not that bad. That’s good news! I’m happy I installed shutters around the house.
(Julio points to his patio and shows a few thin metal vertical shutters that appear to be ripped off)
Look at this. It means the wind was really, really strong enough to really shake them and rip off the shutters. Wow.
(Julio is driving in his vehicle and talking to a cameraperson)
You will see that there are power poles that are toppled. It’s really bad. Look.
(Video clip showing power poles broken at its base with electrical wires hanging over one side of a road)
Wow. You see that? Really bad. It’s destroyed. Also, there are new construction zones, and new blocks being built up, that have collapsed. There is a lot of new construction around here! And now they are all destroyed. I feel bad. Most houses with shingle roofs have damage.
(Video clip showing a home with an exposed roof due to its shingles being stripped off)
They said the Cape Coral power grid is badly damaged. It may take… I hope one month, they did say one month, and I’m unsure about that. Fort Myers, Lehigh, and other areas got their power back on. But for Cape Coral, it will take a while because it is considered an off-the-grid city. All the land you see here is manmade. It’s actually a huge swamp.
(Video clip showing a flooded ditch with broken power poles dangling over them)
It’s still a new development type of community. So we will have to redo our electrical infrastructure.
We have an upside stop sign.
(Video clip showing a stop sign at a shopping plaza area broken off one of its screws and resting upside-down)
Pray for us.
Alex: Thank you, Julio, for being willing to share your story. Our thoughts are with you and others impacted by the hurricane.
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