NORTH PORT, Fla. — Many across the Southwest Florida region are looking back as we approach the first anniversary of Hurricane Ian.
In North Port, where floodwaters took over roads and homes, many first responders were also among the victims.
The city's police chief said the recovery has continued well after the storm, and there have been several lessons they have learned a year later.
"We're still in rebuilding the process and I still have employees that are displaced because of the storm and as you know, we're working in a building that is still broken.," North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said.
Along with residents, first responders in communities like North Port are still dealing with challenges caused by Hurricane Ian.
Like many homes still covered with tarp, the police station is still in need of some repair.
"The roof has been compromised and we need a new roof. Any time we have new storms that are coming upon us, and in Florida it rains a lot, so that water finds its way into our station quite a bit," Garrison said. "We're constantly trying to patch up holes that are penetrating the building," he said.
City officials said they recorded seven deaths from Ian, while police officers and firefighters responded to more than 1,300 incidents. For many of them, their homes were among the thousands damaged by the floods and winds.
"When that storm sat on us for so long and was beating on us, I think that's when we saw the attitude and concern really start the shift from one direction. That's when we knew that we were going to have a much stronger situation to deal with than initially anticipated," Garrison said. "When you're hit with a storm with that magnitude and you have such infrastructure damage, main thoroughfares were shut down, Interstate 75 was shut down, it caused a lot of problems within the city."
Garrison said mutual aid from emergency management departments in minimally impacted neighboring municipalities helped maintain safety and order. The assistance allowed the city's first responders the ability to pause amidst the chaos of a natural disaster to take stock of their losses and begin the documentation process towards relief and assistance.
Ian also put a spotlight on areas for improvement including storm response, rescue training and the need for upgraded equipment – particularly high-power water vehicles and boats for water rescues.
"We can always do things better. Sometimes, you know, you can only do so much preparation for a storm of that magnitude," Garrison said.
According to the city's manager, city-owned facilities suffered an estimated $7 million in damages from the storm. The city has issued more than 19,000 permits and carried out more than 93,000 inspections. It also recovered about $27 million of $85 million worth of damage assessment through FEMA funds.
So far, $15 million in reimbursements remain outstanding while more than 1,200 local businesses were connected with resources as part of recovery.
City leaders have continued to pursue funding opportunities to make some of these goals happen including through Resilient SRQ, which is a Federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program.