Drone Footage Shows Scale of Hurricane Ian's Destruction as People Frantically Try to Contact Loved Ones

A once-beautiful city is now the scene of total destruction after Hurricane Ian tore through Fort Myers, Florida. 

New drone footage captures the immense scale of the disaster, with block after block wiped out and whole neighborhoods submerged underwater. Boats are piled on top of each other and the beachfront is now totally destroyed.

Entire sections of the causeway linking Sanibel Island to the mainland are now obliterated. It’s estimated it will take months, perhaps even years, to rebuild them. Now, the only way off the island is by boat or helicopter.

The U.S. Coast Guard hoisted citizens to safety, including survivors plucked from a flooded trailer park. 

With cellphone towers down, loved ones are reaching out on social media to locate the missing. People are pleading for help, desperate to find their parents and grandparents.

Molly and Chris Henard lost touch with his parents, who are trapped on Sanibel Island.

The last time they spoke, it was “utter chaos” for his parents, Chris told Inside Edition. “They were saying that they need to get off the phone, they need to go get to the highest point in the building. They were going to climb on top of conference tables and chairs,” he said.

After our interview with the couple, Chris’s parents were fortunately located. They will hopefully be transferred off the island soon.

A new hazard is all the standing water that poses potential health risks.

“If you’re out in the water, after Ian, and you’ve gotten wet, my advice is take a shower. Get those contaminants washed off of you,” said University of Florida Dr. John Sansalone.

On Friday, Ian struck again, pounding the coast of South Carolina as the storm surge inundated the city of Charleston.

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