Thank you all so much for watching. Please consider donating to Tod, Annette, Roxie, and Jaxon to help them get back on their feet -

I'm watching your video and getting tears in my eyes. We live in fort myers and stayed home for the hurricane. Never again. We just put the House up for sale and are moving back to Michigan. Thank God the house was ok. It was terrifying!

You should win award for this! It shows exactly what I can’t describe in words, of how that wind came through my front yard on the back end in Punta Gorda, and shows exactly what happened at my Dads house in Fort Myers beach. We were lucky not so many others were. Thank you for documenting this.

I can completely understand your hesitation at interviewing that couple, but the way you presented this entire event is admirable. There was no sense of sensationalism and more journalistic than most things you see. I’m glad they agreed to your interview. Well done.

How fortunate that she had a life jacket and she thinking logically enough cut the strap to tie the dogs to the life vest as well as bag of important stuff. Many people would just be in panic mode and unable to even think of this stuff.

Scariest day of my entire life. I'm grateful they made it out of their house alive❤️

Wow. Chilling video. We live in south Louisiana, and I have become so frightened of hurricanes, that we leave for any storm over a Cat 1. We have a camper for the sole use of evacuating. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats that we could never leave behind, and having the camper provides a home away from home - at least until it is safe to head home. It is also comforting to me to know that we would have a place to live if our house is damaged. Even if we decide to stay, the camper would probably flip in the driveway in high winds. We left last year Hurricane Ida, and returned home to a devastated community from wind damage. We had a direct hit. By the grace of God, our levees held. I watched Ian approach Florida with anxiety knowing it was going to be very bad. PTSD is very real after a hurricane, and these people will need time to process. It does get better, but it will take a long time. My thoughts are with them every day.

Thanks for posting this. 44 Days later this part of Florida continues to suffer. So many are living in their cars, no help from insurance, FEMA, other countries, or other sources. I wish you could document more of the afermath and how so many of us are left to our own devices. This is a discrace and this part of Florida is suffering. So many people lost their homes, cars, loved ones, and cheerished memories. If anyone reading this has never donated money to a charity, this would be a great time to help the people of Southwest Florida. I thank you for sharing this documentary. Pray you never have to be a part of a natural distaster of this magnitude.

Thanks Max for an excellent documentary on Hurricane IAN, I have friends who went to Ft Myers and other areas, they took trailer full of all kinds of supplies, toilet paper, dippers, cases & cases of water, 500 lbs of chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs ect ... a huge Bar B Q cooker and a large boat so the could do search and rescue. While out searching he said they saw things that they could never un see. They were not prepared to see hundreds of dead bodies everywhere in and around canals, He said the stench would make you gag. Can you verified this? Do you see dead bodies? The News Media has said nothing about this except to say there was hardly any life lost. I have other sources that have said the same thing.

My dad lived in that house for years. I loved it there so much...when I saw it collapse I started sobbing because I thought I saw people were still in there. I can't be sad about the house knowing that you all made it out alive and well.

That barely looks like storm surge, it looks like a tsunami :(

The probe on Ft. Myers Beach will go down in Hurricane History as one of the most impressive footage ever captured during a storm.

Omg I'm so so happy to see this couple and their dogs made it. My heart smiled.

I visited Ft.Myers 6 months after Ian. It was my first time in Florida. The devastation was still very much apparent. I talked to locals and heard their stories. Man, i have the deepest respect for those folks. Their bravery, their sense of comunity and the pride in their community. Some of the friendliest and most resiliant people I have ever met. Some had nothing and were quick to invite me to a cookout in thier rubble strewn yards. Their homes were completely gutted and they still wanted to cook for and feed me! They showed this Pennsylvanian southern hospitality! I ended up throwing a big cookout at my rental for all of those wonderfully kind folks. Florida residents, dont change! Keep that perserverance and pride. To the folks of Ft.Myers, thanks for the stories and the good time, you guys are out of this world!

I’m from Ft Myers but now live in Virginia. I visit Ft Myers Beach with my sister every year and we stay at the DiamondHead, which is about 100 yards behind this camera. When I first saw your video right after the storm, I thought, “That’s the Lani Kai and there’s the red house!” Your probe must have been about 15-16 feet up on that pole.

What I love the most is, it really gives everyone a reality check. Shows us just how powerful mother nature really is. Anything is possible. That's why we have warnings and evacuations. Thanks for being the brave soul to get this footage and information. Without people like you, there's so much we wouldn't understand. ☺️

The footage from the surge in Ft Meyers is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. The water got SO HIGH, SO QUICK! Insane!!!!! So happy to hear from Tod & Annette

Thank you for this footage. Almost 2 years later and it’s still so shocking to me. I’ve lived in SWFL my entire life. This was the worst hurricane I’ve ever experienced. I remember listening to the radio coverage once the power went out and heard them talking about how high the surge was. I sat on my couch and cried because I had never heard or seen such devastation. It was something I’ll never forget 😔

This is my 3rd time watching this documentary and it never gets old. I was right there a few weeks before the hurricane.

Incredible video. The interview at the end, and your footage make for one of the best hurricane videos / story ever. Thanks for sharing Max.