FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. – Search and rescue operations remain underway in southwest Florida more than a week after Hurricane Ian made landfall.
Crews with Miami Police and Miami Fire Rescue are still across the state, along with other local first responders, looking for survivors in areas left in ruins.
Local 10 News’ Bridgette Matter spent Thursday with one of those fire crews in Fort Myers Beach.
The search for those teams is tedious. There are debris fields, cars, homes and other wreckage to look through, and they are up against a lot of challenges in finding survivors, especially time.
Miami Police Sgt. Wily Diaz escorted Local 10 News during a search operation.
While driving, a request for cadaver dogs came over the radio.
A reminder of the grim reality for first responders working nonstop, trying to save who they can.
According to Miami Fire Rescue, bodies were recovered on Wednesday.
“What we are seeing is homes washed away in the storm surge could have potentially ended up in the water,” said Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll.
Vehicles seen in a parking lot of an apartment building are marked with orange tape, indicating rescue crews have gone through the cars searching for survivors or casualties.
Local 10 News followed South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 2 out of Miami as they prepared to go out on the water to search mangroves and other areas.
The team is using a drone to guide another team doing searches off the coast.
“At the end of the day we want to be able to say that we have put our hands over this entire area, including the water ways, at least three times,” said Carroll.
Once the debris piles are searched and all areas are looked at, the rescue teams will tell local officials there is no more they can do.
The more time that passes since Ian came ashore, the slimmer the chances of finding any survivors.