Hurricane Ian: One Year Later

10 • HURRICANE IAN: ONE YEAR LATER • 2023 TERROR AND RECOVERY Michelle Valkov Sun Correspondent NORTH PORT — Nearly a year since Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida, some residents are still dealing with damage to homes and wreckage in surrounding areas. Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., made landfall on Southwest Florida's Gulf Coast on Sept. 28, 2022, with 150-mph winds causing a completely changed reality for residents. "It was like 'Amityville Horror.' Trees everywhere, the neighborhood a mess - and flooded," Brian Carpenter said. "The silence after the hurricane was deafening. I felt like I was in a 'Walking Dead' episode just waiting for a zombie to start walking down the road." Carpenter, a musician, has lived in Port Charlotte since 1975. He has toured throughout the entire world in a rock band and works with former Godsmack band members, Shannon Larkin and Tony Rombola. As the sounds of the hurricane became a reality, he looked at the tools of his trade. "I threw my guitars into my cabinets and started stacking them after I heard part of the backside of my roof rip off," Carpenter said. Carpenter said everything was disarrayed in the house. The mattress and floor were soaked. Flood waters came up on the lanai about 4 inches and the water started seeping into the house. "I had to sleep in my bathtub that night," Carpenter said. Carpenter put on his combat boots and found a broom and worked to push water out of the house for two hours. He built sort of a dam in his hallway. "I felt like I went into full 'Rambo' mode. I ended up having blisters on my hands and feet," Carpenter said. Carpenter didn't receive the help from his insurance company that he thought he would so he filed with FEMA and received some money. Carpenter said the real help came from a state program called Unite Florida. They provided a trailer for about five months after Hurricane Ian that he could live in. Meanwhile, a construction company that works for Unite Florida would fix basic things in the house, like pipes, the sink, refrigerator and air conditioning. That helped him get back into the house. "Almost a year later and all I have in the house is my TV and recliner to sleep on since the air conditioning in the trailer doesn't work," Carpenter said. Carpenter ended up paying out of pocket for his roof and temporarily moved in with his father after the hurricane. Carpenter said Hurricane Ian didn't help his mindset — causing bad anxiety and he fell into a deep depression. "I'm ready to get back into adventures, though, get the band touring, and picking up my old hobbies, like martial arts," Carpenter said. Yuliya Bratnichenko, a 23-year-old single mother of a 4-year old daughter, received an eviction notice two weeks after the hurricane to leave within 30 days, due to Ian's damages. Bratnichenko has been a North Port resident since 2010. "The landlord came to collect rent the day after the Hurricane and didn't even ask us if we were okay," Bratnichenko said. Bratnichenko said it was difficult to work with and play with her daughter, who was 3 when Ian struck. "Not only am I completely locked out from the outside world, with no water, no power, and no way of communicating with anyone, which is the worst experience ever, but I'm also needing to figure out how to entertain my kid," Bratnichenko said. Bratnichenko set up board games and had a dinner table set for 12 and lit up all the candles she had. "The board games looked like a 'séance' with all the candles being lit," Bratnichenko joked. Bratnichenko said their ceiling started cracking and water started to come in through the windows and the rooms started to flood. Hurricane shutters were not provided by the landlord. The drywall was also peeling. "I was definitely ill-prepared, and this storm caught everyone off guard. Boy did this storm hit us. It hit us with a double- punch combo," Bratnichenko said. Bratnichenko said she was grateful for the neighborhood coming together and helping each other out. "We really all banded together, and one neighbor had a generator that we all took turns using on a rotated schedule. We all rotated which house we would all eat at for dinner, and we made sure there was enough for those who could still go to work. Although I now live with a friend and her husband, I still keep in touch with my old neighbors. We are tight," Bratnichenko said. David, Holly and Matthew Beveridge, residents of North Port since 2021, said they prepared as best as they could. They hunkered down in their bathroom because of the Category 4 winds and laid on blankets where their dog and cat joined. "We just kept praying that it would pass," Holly Beveridge said. After the hurricane, the Beveridge family got around on paddle boards delivering ice and gas to their neighbors because several of their homes flooded slightly and some were submerged in water. "We had no running water or electricity for 12 days, and were so thankful for our generator," Holly Beveridge said. Sun photo by CRAIG GARRETT Leah Mauldin and her son Theodore move back into their North Port home, six months after Hurricane Ian drove them out. Gondolier photo by ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH After Hurricane Ian, the Sumter Boulevard interstate exchange flooded, stranding some vehicles. No North Port roads made the MPO's list for flooding vulnerability.

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