Three more hurricane stories from Cape Coral

Here are three more Hurricane Ian experiences from deaf people who live in Cape Coral, Florida. The first is from Javier Posada.

Javier Posada: I got a hard hit from Hurricane Ian. Category 4. Look at all this debris.

(Video clip of hurricane moving through Javier’s neighborhood)

Javier: There is bad damage to the roof.

(Pictures of damaged roof, ripped shingles, and water damage through the ceiling)

Javier: These trees used to be green and looked full, but now it’s stripped away. The fence is also gone.

This tree fell over.

(Video clip of tree falling over during hurricane-force winds)

Javier: I’m sleeping at a hotel. I can’t sleep at the house because the ceiling is damaged and it’s not safe for us. There could be mold. So we have to go and sleep at a hotel.

(Video clip of electric linemen working on damaged power poles)

Javier: Our insurance told us that they would cover the costs. We’ll see.

Alex: Thank you for sharing your story, Javier. He said his roof is damaged and there was water that leaked through the ceiling. He is now staying at a hotel for a week. We hope that your home will be repaired as fast as possible.

The next story is from Jim Lomanto, who lives in Cape Coral with his partner, Mark. He posted video updates on his Facebook page and allowed me to share some clips.

Jim Lomanto: The hurricane’s impact was very serious. I’m disappointed about the fact that Mark worked so hard on our new swimming pool but it’s damaged. Look at it, the screening has collapsed. Oh well.

(Video clip showing hurricane-force winds in Jim’s backyard. The pool screen (lanai) area was still intact at the time)

Jim: It’s destroyed. Completely collapsed.

(Images of a damaged fence gate and the pool screen (lanai) collapsed in the swimming pool)

Jim: We’re lucky that there was no damage to our house. That is a big blessing.

We had 140 mph winds. That’s why it was destructive. Nothing funny about 140 mph winds. Wow.

Alex: Thank you for sharing, Jim. We are sorry to see that your pool is damaged, but we are glad that the main part of your home is okay.

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Alex: The third story is from Keri and Tim Decelles, also of Cape Coral. Their home was not seriously damaged, but the storm had an impact on their neighborhood.

(Image of Tim and Keri Decelles standing outside of their home. There is visible damage to trees and debris on their driveway)

Tim: The wind blew so hard and there was debris hitting the home.

Keri: He can hear it. And sometimes we would feel booms and realize it was falling trees.

My backyard has an old shed and it fell apart.

(Before-and-after images of a shed, one intact and the second image completely shredded)

Tim: A broken power line was in our backyard. The end was near our above-ground pool. We’re lucky it wasn’t in the pool!

(Image of an above-ground pool near a broken fence and a power pole with broken lines)

Keri: We have two cars that were parked in the driveway. A tree fell, but it barely missed the front of the car!

(Image of a tropical tree that is fallen right between the garage and a small white car)

Keri: So close. How?! I did see some dents, though, but mostly it was okay. No major damage. I was shocked.

Tim: Lucky!

(Images of broken power poles around the Decelles home)

Tim: The electric company, after looking at our home and street, said it may take three weeks before the power can come back on.

Keri: As of October 1.

Tim: Three weeks!

Alex: Thank you both for sharing your experience. They said they are fortunate to be okay, but that the beach area near their home has experienced catastrophic damage.

That’s the three stories from Cape Coral. Thank you all for sharing and our hearts are with everyone impacted by Hurricane Ian.