Hurricane Milton has left a trail of destruction on San Carlos Island, with debris now spilling out onto Main Street. What was once people's belongings and memories has been reduced to trash lining the streets, as residents and community members struggle to recover.
WATCH THE FULL COVERAGE OF SAN CARLOS ISLAND BY COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT ANVAR RUZIEV HERE:
Randy Beattey, a long-time resident of the area, shared how the storm has displaced him yet again. Beattey has lived on San Carlos Island for 27 years, and Hurricane Ian had already destroyed his ground-floor apartment. Despite the damage, he moved back in last summer after repairs were completed.
“Our place was rebuildable, we just got possession of it on June 24. Now this hit us again,” Beattey said.
Beattey is now once more without a home, as Hurricane Milton left his apartment uninhabitable.
“All the appliances got ruined, and you can’t live in it while you’re rehabbing it,” he explained.
The streets of San Carlos Island are now lined with damaged appliances and other debris, but for some, this trash presents an opportunity. Jaeril Dortch has been out helping clean up the streets for the past two weeks, and he sees it as a way to support both the community and himself.
“Helping the community, and making money at the same time,” Dortch said.
Dortch and his crew have been sorting through the debris piles, separating out metal that can be sold as scrap. He explained how the process has been working out for him.
“This starts in the morning, I take it to the scrapyard, that puts money in my pocket, it pays for gas, water…” he said.
When asked if the large ship that washed ashore during the hurricane might also make his scrap list, Dortch responded with a laugh, “Yeah right, I wish!”
As the community continues to clean up, new dumpsters were delivered last Thursday, replacing the ones that floated away during the storm. Neighbors now have a place to dispose of the vast amount of debris left behind by Hurricane Milton.
