Florida residents are facing tough choices about whether to stay or leave in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
For Renee Smith and her paralysed, cancer-stricken husband Christopher, evacuation was not an option when Hurricane Ian came violently bearing down on their Florida home.
"They got on their air mattresses inside their house, because it was too late to leave, and by the time the surge got to its peak, they had about a foot of air left in their homes," she said. "Nobody died there, but it was a horrific story to hear." Tom, a 48-year-old resident of the town of Port Charlotte, 38 miles from Fort Myers, told the BBC that he decided to leave the morning after the storm along with his 66-year-old mother, Kathy.
Federal officials and the American Red Cross say that about 10,000 displaced people are currently in shelters - not including people who may have taken shelter with friends, family or left the area entirely. Among those vowing to stay to help with the effort is construction worker Alejandro Carrera, an Argentine immigrant and 14-year resident of Fort Myers.
A lack of connectivity to the mainland, she said, would be devastating to a community which survives largely on tourism. The alternative to a working causeway - a ferry - could potentially drive tourists away.Just across the shattered causeway in Fort Myers, pensioner Lucia Kim said that while she is confident that local communities will get back to normal sooner than later, she fears that some of the "spirit" of the area might be lost.
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