Hurricane Ian left a trail of destruction across Southwest Florida as it roared through as a Category 4 storm.
Homes and businesses across Lee County, where the hurricane made landfall on Wednesday, are destroyed.
Maura Mecchella said she rode out the storm.
"It was very scary to have the water and the river flowing underneath us all night long," she said. "We tried to, I just tried to keep morale up. We played games when we knew that we were stuck."
Mecchella said she was able to get water and food before water broke through the windows.
"I knew at that point that there was no going downstairs for a while," she said. "I didn't know how long we would be upstairs."
A lot of people left the area as the storm approached, but returned to see their homes destroyed.
"It just is destroyed and it's ruined," a Fort Myers resident said. "And then you have to start all over again. And honestly, where do you start? How do you start in this."
For those who don't have a home, all 15 shelters within the county that opened prior to Hurricane Ian are still open.
