Clean-up efforts continue in Florida after Hurricane Ian battered parts of the state.
Mary Reagan, a local American Red Cross volunteer, is stationed in Daytona Beach. She says there’s significant damage there, even though it’s located on the opposite side of the state from where Ian made landfall.
“They never expected the water to get as high as it did, and it came up very quickly, of course,” she said.
Reagan says survivors are still shaken up following the hurricane.
“Almost everyone here has had water in their apartment or in their homes,” she added.
She left the Valley ahead of Hurricane Ian and went straight to Tallahassee.
She’s now in Daytona Beach, helping more than 200 storm victims get back on their feet.
“We’ve seen numerous people with cuts on their arms and their legs from bumping into things that were rushing in the water, when they were trying to wade through the water. Once they get to the shelter, they’re so glad to be out of the water,” she added.
It’s water that she says covered parts of Daytona at one point.
“Large, large bodies of water on the side of the road. And as we got into Daytona Beach…trees everywhere,” Reagan told ABC15.
The damage is substantial and clean-up efforts, as well as aid continue coming in for those affected by the storm.
FEMA is also now on the ground.
“It’s [been] more than a week since the storm went through and it’s just baby steps. It just takes time.”
Reagan tells ABC15 it takes a village to make it happen.
“The village is here. The generosity of the community that wasn’t really affected by the flood has been very heartwarming,” she said.
Reagan says while the storm is over, this is the beginning of a rebuilding process.
“There still is a tremendous amount of clean-up to take place,” said Reagan.
