SARASOTA, Fla. — As we approach the anniversary of Hurricane Ian which is a week away, Sarasota County emergency management leaders are discussing the challenges the storm brought on and the progress they have made in rebuilding.
This comes as some neighbors in impacted communities continue to struggle.
Many home and business owners are still dealing with repair issues claims and said they have been frustrated by the process even a year after the Category 4 hurricane landed south of the area. At mobile home parks in Sarasota County, debris stuck in trees and blue tarps on roofs serve as reminders of the long-gone storm.
Some residents said they have had to make out-of-pocket payments for some fixes while many others are still very far off from having repairs started.
"Pure agony. We got a couple of promises made. Trying to get the insurance company to take care of our problems and it didn't," North Port resident Lenny Haynes said.
After several disappointments, Haynes, who lives in the La Casa mobile home community, said he could relate to the present frustrations around him. He only recently got a contractor to start working on repairing his house to what it was.
"Siding damage, window damage, roof damage, it is very aggravating as far as getting something done," he said.
The storm brought more than 18 inches of rain in places like Venice.
"The storm parked over us, and for a number of hours was dumping extensive amounts of water across the state. Unprecedented, from the center of the state all the way down," Rich Collins, the emergency services director for Sarasota County, said.
Collins said he has been working with both local and state elected leaders to change laws that could be a hindrance to operations and impact urgency in cases of emergencies.
He also said more than 150 residents are still living in temporary housing supplied by FEMA as county staff work to expedite the permitting process for many to effect repairs on their homes.
"To help remove those barriers, to make things quicker and in fact, just recently are taking stuff to our board to continue to refine that process. Obviously, with so much work there's a lot coming in," Collins said.
"This whole ordeal was like pulling teeth. I never want to see one of these again, ever. It was so bad here," Haynes said.