Hurricane Ian: One Year Later

8 • HURRICANE IAN: ONE YEAR LATER • 2023 Bob Mudge Senior Writer VENICE — A year post- Hurricane Ian — and a month post-Hurricane Idalia — life in Bay Indies looks to have returned to normal. And it has for most residents. But for some, it's a work in progress, said Bill Capozzi, president of the community's Veterans Club. His group has been assisting in the recovery since right after the storm passed, he said, though he and his wife had to hightail it back from Biloxi, Mississippi, to join the effort. They had traveled there in their RV to get out of Ian's path, only to return almost immediately after he was notified how hard Bay Indies had been hit. Their home wasn't damaged but many others were, and the entire area was without power and the roof on Indies House — where there's a commercial kitchen — was compromised. A total of 60 homes were damaged beyond repair, he said, and another 12-14 are still scheduled for demolition. Others remain unrepaired because contractors and materials are in short supply. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported after city emergency personnel made a pass through Bay Indies, as well as the other manufactured home communities in the city. When the Capozzis got back, the RV quickly became a makeshift soup kitchen. Word got out that hot meals were being served. "We had a line as far as the eye could see," Capozzi said. A RETURN TO NORMAL? CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 SUN FILE PHOTO Venice police drove through the Bay Indies mobile home park Sept. 27, 2022, using loudspeakers to encourage residents to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ian. SUN FILE PHOTO Bill Capozzi Country Club Ridge still FEELS THE SCARS Frank Difiore Staff Writer NORTH PORT — When Hurricane Ian swept over Florida, it was not only the coasts that bore nature's wrath. North Port, sitting behind Englewood and Venice, saw extensive flooding in the wake of the storm. The neighborhood of Country Club Ridge was one of the most heavily hit areas, as rising waters from the Myakka River and its surrounding tributaries was fed with both rainfall and storm surge. Yvonne May, a North Port resident, saw water come from above and below into her home on Maraldo Avenue. The waters gutted her house, destroying the electric system and weakening the floors under her feet. May was forced to seek shelter at hotels away from her home — she is still awaiting full reimbursement from FEMA for those expenses. For the past year, she has lived in a trailer provided by UNITE Florida, placed in her driveway as she attempts to get her home back in order. "I'm at a loss," May said, speaking to The Daily Sun earlier this year. "How are you gonna leave us like this?" In the aftermath of the storm, Country Club Ridge was one of the more isolated neighborhoods in North Port. Flooding destroyed homes - and in another case, a blaze destroyed another. Floodwaters made streets impassable except by kayak or boat, leaving some stranded. Justin Willis, executive director for When All Else Fails Inc., recalled using kayaks to help deliver hurricane supplies. "The water just kept coming," Willis said. When All Else Fails was founded in 2020, aiming to help people falling through cracks in local aid during the height of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 SUN PHOTO BY ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH Residents at Country Club Ridge, off Sumter Boulevard, had to leave their homes by boat. About 4 feet of water is inside of their homes, vehicles are destroyed and many lost their roofs in Hurricane Ian.

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