Meet the Floridian who lived through six hurricanes: ‘There is more than one kind of storm in your life.’

FORT MYERS, Florida — Floyd has a pair of boot-foot waders he’s used for years to perform baptisms at his local church. But on Friday, he would need the outfit — a combination of boots and coveralls — to wade through about a foot of water in order to safely get to his home in Fort Myers, where a Category 4 storm just left a trail of destruction. On Wednesday, Hurricane Ian tore through Florida’s west coast and slammed the state with catastrophic winds and storm surges.

Homes were swept away, boats were destroyed, and city infrastructure has been damaged, leaving nearly entire communities without power. The death toll is at least 21 as of Friday, with state officials expecting the number to rise. In Fort Myers, a 10-foot surge poured into the community, and residents like Floyd were still waiting on Friday for the water to recede so they can start picking up the pieces.

“Everything is going to be all right,” said Floyd, who just experienced his sixth hurricane. Before the storm’s peak, Floyd and his wife escaped to their daughter’s home which was located outside the storm’s path. But now, he’s determined to go back to the house he built himself once the water in the streets recedes.

“I’ve been living here for 44 years. Why do I have to go now, when I’ve been living here all my life,” said Floyd, who is retired and opted to share only his first name. Getting to his home is a challenge many Fort Myers residents are experiencing.

At the time, about a foot of water remained in the street that led to Floyd’s home. When he went to survey the damages on Thursday, Floyd said he made the mistake of rushing the process of putting on his boot-foot waders. The outfit rubbed against his shin and it became raw.

Some residents used other methods to reach their homes. On Friday, Michael Ryerson and his family stood at the end of their road surveying their flooded, muddy street, where children were wading through knee-high water and neighbors had gathered to take in the scene. Ryerson, who owns a beach equipment company, used a large floating board to stay dry and float up to their house.

He began sharing the board with their neighbors so others could get their belongings or survey the damage. During the worst part of the storm, Ryerson’s family escaped their neighborhood and went to stay in Naples. Even so, the car they’d brought with them was now wrecked.

“Nobody has told us anything,” Ryerson said about when they’d get help. “We have probably about three to four more days until it recedes. ” Floyd said he was told that help would come in two to three days.

More than 800 rescue teams were dispatched on Thursday to help Floridians, according to NBC News . Ryerson said that his business, Shaded Rentals, would probably have to be put on hold as the city rebuilds from the wreckage. The road to Sanibel Island collapsed, and Fort Myers Beach was covered in debris.

But the important thing for him was that “everybody is alive. ” Floyd also remained optimistic: “There is more than one kind of storm in your life. Storms come and storms go, you just have got to ride it out.

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