UPDATE: I was able to get in touch with a family member and Susan & Jim DID make it off Pine Island. “We have been safely evacuated by Coast Guard to Cape Coral. Staying with friends who have a generator,” is the message sent to me by their family.

I grew up on Pine Island (St. James City). Though I moved away after joining the military, my heart is heavy with the devastation post Hurricane Ian. "Islanders support islanders"! Please don't let the coverage only shine on Sanibel, Captiva, and Fort Myers Beach. Continue to include Matlacha and Pine Island like you all did in this segment. You are doing a great service to the community when equal coverage is distributed for all who are impacted by this storm. Thank you!

My heart is breaking for that mother. Omg I can't imagine. We all need to come together as a community and help

People, please listen to the emergency warnings when they tell you to evacuate. Especially if you have a medical situation. I live in Florida and if I lived in any of the places along the water that were told to evacuate, without hesitation, I would be calling and looking for a place to go. There are many places to go to protect yourself. They broadcast it regularly there would be no help after the hurricane started. As harsh as this sounds, it is selfish to risk the lives of first responders when you could have evacuated before hand. To think your tough enough to weather out a 150 mph Hurricane is naive.

fuck man i wasn't expecting that lady to say her daughter was gone. ripped my heart to shreds

I am a Pine Island Resident stuck off island with my home out there destroyed. We are pine island strong and we survive. Thank you for seeing that. You guys are THE FIRST new channel to make a solid and meaningful story. That may be because it's difficult and that I understand. But you made it happen and for that I thank you. PINE ISLAND STRONG!!!!!!✊️✊️💪💪WE WONT BE FORGOTTEN

I really appreciate hearing this report. So much of the reporting I've watched has been focused on the damage to property, infrastructure, etc. It's good to hear reporting about the people and what they're going through; so many people adversely impacted by this storm! Take care of the people first then take care of the property.

The sad lesson here is when you live at sea level and they tell you to run....'RUN'.

Thank you for covering Pine Island. Often forgotten since it isn't a multi million dollar island like Captiva.

of the dozens of reports i've seen, this was _by far_ the most well done: sincere, direct, and real upon a pure foundation of humanity. my mom is less than 25 miles from this island, but the devastation here is 5-10 times greater.

Oh my goodness as soon as that woman started talking about her daughter and how her daughter was gone and passed away I just started sobbing uncontrollably. I feel her pain through her voice and I just can't even fathom how much she's going through her and her husband... oh my goodness Thank you so much for giving these people a voice and helping them not feel forgotten.

My grandparents used to live on Matlacha until the combo of rising taxes and flood insurance was too much for pensioners and moved to Cape Coral before passing in 2017. My great grandmother lived in St James City until she passed about 12 years ago. Seeing those places since the 1970s were wonderful memories of the FL fishing village past that mostly remained up to the early 2000s. Matlacha in particular had added a quaint art district by the mid 2010s, reminded me of Sedona AZ art district. Hard to see the devastation from Ian, and prayers and donations to the FL disaster fund are the least I can offer.

Part of the story that was missed for those who aren't familiar with the area, that lady who lost her daughter, unable to get to Cape Coral. Cape Coral is only 5 miles from where she was at. That's how dire the situation is.

Thank you for focusing on Pine Island. 🙏

Never underestimate a persons resolve. I played Everquest for years with a guy who lived in Maine. Saw him every day for nearly a decade for a few mins or a whole day. One day he posts he's not going to play for a while and I figured a while would be a week. He was gone for 4 years. When he gets on for the first time after going missing I ask how he has been and what he has been up too. He told me there was a storm and it washed several feet of mud over his property. He grew his own food and harvested the trees to build his own house so having everything you own buried under feet of mud was devastating. I never did ask for clarification on what several feet of mud is, but knowing him it could have been 9. What this man did was dig out his entire property by hand and rebuild by hand. I asked him why he didn't just rebuild on top of the mud and he told me it was not going to support plants, but the land under it would.. so he dug. I asked if he used a tractor or other equipment and he said he did it all with a wheelbarrow and several shovels. When the ground wasn't frozen he was digging it out. When the ground was frozen he was building a house. When people have their minds set to a task and it's a true resolve there is nothing that can stop them.

That's chilling. I'm in north ft Myers with no water no power I'm filthy and all my clothes are dirty and I had to throw away everything in my fridge but I'm lucky to be alive.

Thank you for telling the story about Pine Island. I have a home in St James city and I'm going down in three weeks. I'm not sure how I'm going to get on the Island yet but I'm taking supplies down and since my boat wasn't damaged I'm going to do what I have to to support my neighbors. We'll get organized and support ourselves if the officials think it's too hard and too much trouble.

People need to leave, not the time to try and prove anything, just leave! When the rescuers say leave, leave!

Damn my heart hurts for the lady that lost her daughter. I wanted to hug her.

Thank you so much for doing this story! My parents have had a place there for many years. They are a resilient community for sure.

No one is forgotten, people are being rescued from Pine Island and Sanabel, and as of Friday and Saturday they are shuttling people back and forth from the islands to get to there homes. This was a historic storm the county responded as soon as it was humanly possible. If you don’t want to leave Pine Island its unsafe, and not reasonable to expect resources when the road is out… Get to the main land shelter, which the state has dozens open, with food and water…

Our hearts are heavy for you! With love from Florida!💝🙏💝

To anyone asking why people didn’t evacuate, think of this…We have a lot of old people here. Many are infirm with medical issues and cannot just pack up and go somewhere easily. My heart goes out to these people.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, heed the evacuation orders. This is heartbreaking!!!

We were in Orlando at the time the hurricane came through and I had to unsubscribe to all kinds of Disney KZfaqrs claiming that they made it through the hurricane and they were staying at Disney hotels…. Wake up people. What came through Disney was NOTHING compared to this. I hope everyone can recover and people find peace who lost someone and lost everything.

Oh man! That poor mom whose daughter died.

WHAT? They stayed on Pine Island knowing that a cat 4 hurricane was coming? Why? It’s a very small vulnerable island. I don’t get it. And the news story isn’t reality. Pine island has mango trees, that’s it. There is a big grocery store, which will deal with the obstacles to staying open until the bridge is rebuilt. But the area is NOT a self-sufficient place at all & looks devastated. I have land there & have spent a lot of time in the area. My heart goes out to everyone suffering as a result of this hurricane. 😅😅😅😅

Prayers for Pine Island. Thank you for bringing this story to our hearts.

I have been trying to find out more of Pine Island, Matlacha, St James City and Bookeelia. Thank you for the coverage. Wonderful people, My prayers for them.

your coverage of Pine Island is deep in compassion and appreciated … God’s speed.. ❤

By far the best news report I've seen so far from any source. A mature, informed, humble reporter in the trenches giving a sober account of the reality he's observing. This is the way news should be done. No more kids fresh out of journalism school hyperventilating over waving palm fronds, puddles in the parking lot, and a bent stop sign. Give us more Evan Dean please!

This is a good broadcast. Honest. real. Trustworthy. Thank you. God Bless all of you there.

My heart goes to that lady who lost her daughter hope she manages to get to her . Prayers to everyone and safety.

This is the first thing I’ve seen about pine Island. Glad someone finally acknowledged them . 🌴👍👍😎🌴

Awesome Story!! We loved the Bridgewater Inn. We stayed in one of the shanties across the street directly across from Bert's Bar. We are so sad for everyone and so thankful for the memories. Sending love and hope to all that were affected so badly by Ian. We are in South Venice and had damage and many huge Live Oaks blow over. Many fortunately missed homes. We feel extremely lucky and plan to help anywhere we can in these hard hit communities. Especially Matlacha. Their resilience is inspiring. Thank you for this amazing coverage.

Thank you for this story, no one is talking about this amazing little community! 🙏

Never underestimate the forces of nature and never overestimate your own ability. Be aware of your situation and always leave yourself an out. I have found myself in desperate times just like these people and had no one to blame but myself. Please, God, never again!

So heartbroken. Worked out there over a decade. Love all those people. Good hardworking families. God Bless them

Please people, if they tell you to evacuate, do it! Possessions can be replaced, lives can’t. I understand that you want to protect your property, but you aren’t stronger than the storm. Personal safety must come first. My heart goes out to you.

I pray for all the people in Florida to be strong 💪 u will be able to. Real build and make Florida. Beautiful 🤩 again

It's a sad loss of life...but honestly avoidable with the option to evacuate. That's the most tragic.

Thing is SW Florida was basically a time bomb waiting to go off. If you look at National Storm Surge Risk Maps you will see any sizeable hurricane will destroy that area miles inland. It's basically a combination of swamp and shallow Gulf of Mexico that causes such a bad storm surge. This same storm hitting Fort Lauderdale would have a fraction of the flooding because of the geography on the east coast of Florida is not as dangerous for hurricanes(though still dangerous obviously)

Prayers for the families! I lived thru Hurricane Hugo in ‘89 in the Virgin Islands with winds clocked at over 200 mph. Sounded like a freight train! Lost my roof and electricity for over 2 months. I feel your pain. Take it one day at a time. You are resilient.❤️

Our Jersey Strong ❤️s are praying for you! Give PINE ISLAND the resources they need...and they will do it right! 🙏 to you...we hear your story and feel your ❤️S!

I am so deeply sorry to all that were impacted by this monstrous storm. Those poor parents that lost their daughter. So heartbreaking🙏🙏🙏

I remember the warning to evacuate. I think everyone got that message. if they chose to stay they can't expect to be rescued on demand.

Prayers from Houston. We made it thru Ike & Harvey it sucked but its amazing how people come together. Hopefully these communities can get the help they need.

Praying for you!

You’re not forgotten. Our prayers and thoughts are with you all. We love Matlacha and are in the area daily. We can’t can’t get to you and have had zero communication with the outside world till now. Hope help arrives quickly. Personally will be there to help when we can. Blessings from Naples❤️

Unbelievable the arrogance of humans who think they can outwit mother nature. I'll never understand why a Cat 4 hurricane was thought of as a basic thunderstorm. How could you not evacuate if given the ability to. For the love of all that is sacred STOP building your homes in a seriously prone hurricane areas. Im so sorry for all the lose of life it was horrible and TOTALLY avoidable if warnings had been heeded. Godspeed. I surely hope the ones that need the help get the help quickly and arent made to suffer more

Thank you for the touching story of Pine Island. My sister and her husband are on the island.

SO VERY SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS SUSAN SENDING LOVE AND PRAYERS FROM CT XOXO

The problem is, there's so many places that need such urgent assistance, and there's such a limited way to get people off the island and supplies on it, not to mention limited manpower

Our prayers go out to our Fellow Americans in the SE. 🇺🇸☮️

Visited Pine Island this past summer and loved the community feel there. Prayers for the people during this recovery.

They were told to evacuate. As a born and raised Floridian, and a Hurricane Charley survivor, I have no pity on those who decided to stay. Come on ego, get over yourself.

😭 Love swfl Been fishing on pine island since 2000 Praying 🙏 for lee county

As someone who was born & raised on Pine Island. He spoke the truth about how Strong the people are there.

Thank you for every reporter that has gone to the people.

Great job getting the real news out to us!

Why didn’t reporter bring them back him? He made it back!

Its weird that the News reporters changed the narrative to "they have fruit and can fish" after the storm has tossed around cars, trees, and the entire road 🛣️ is destroyed 🤦🏿💥

Great coverage - succinct and informative

Why do these people stay through a hurricane when they are aware of the danger????? So sorry for their loss.

I wish my brother and his wife would come back it will be safer I do miss them so much 😢I want them to be safe 😢

I visited Sanibel when a ferry was the only way…Bailey’s store had basic needs. This was 1955+

Appreciate this video!! Would love more of the Monroe canal Sanibel blvd side all the way to the bay.

I am very sorry that these people have lost everything they owned and that they are living entire circumstances but that's what you sign up for when you live on a tiny Island on the Gulf Coast that is only accessed by a very long road / bridge through swamp. You need to be self-sufficient if that's how you want to live. You cannot expect the government to just pop right in and make things right for you

Pain has no color God help 🙏 us all

I couldn't even imagine the gut wrenching feeling of being stranded while trying to get to your daughter. God Bless you people. Thoughts and Prayers sent.

Thank you SO MUCH for this news piece. Especially the question "How can we help?!" We want to go back to Pine Island!

May your life be filled with serenity, and good news. May God bless you abundantly mani bhai - Lahore District, Punjab, Pakistan

This is heartbreaking! I couldn’t even imagine.

Going to visit the ocean is awesome. Having the ocean come visit you, not so much. Thoughts and prayers for all those affected by this horrific storm.

Thank you!!!

Caribbean inhabitants know the risks of what they’re most susceptible to. Same with those who live near fracture zones, active volcanoes, coastlines, or in a places with names as literal as “Tornado Alley.” It’s people’s choices to live in these places that are more likely to be affected by nature’s wrath, so an acceptable lifestyle in these places is understanding the fact that the destruction, rebuilding, and maintenance of infrastructure IS the lifestyle.

There’s adequate time to evacuate when a storm is coming

Thank you for this coverage. I lived in Bokeelia and opened my first bookstore in Matlacha. I have often thought of moving back. That no longer seems an option. My heart breaks.

Refreshing, honest coverage. Rare these days.

My brother lives on Pine Island, he's still there and doesn't want to leave his home. says he's fine with his generator and beer

That must be so devastating, seeing your home completely destroyed.

My ex moved to Pine Island three months ago. Bought a house (mobile home) in a 55 and over park. She is able to work remotely. Fortunately, she had to go to headquarters in the Mid-Atlantic the week of the hurricane, but now has no idea about her house.

💔💔💔 R.I.P as a mom myself that was gut wrenching…

The reporter in the white hat sounds like he actually cares.

Prayers for Sudan and her husband ❤

Good evening from lndonesia, l pray for the people in pine island, Florida, Caroline. Be patient.

Plenty of prayers 🙏 ❤ to all of Florida and anyone who went through hurricane 🌀 Ian or has any destruction from hurricane 🌀 Ian. Praying 🙏 y'all get the resources that y'all are in dire need of.

We will pray for the people of Pine Island. May they get the help they so desperately need or want.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 prayers to these folks❤️❤️

These people on Pine Is. IMO have the greatest need for help. Obviously, everyone who has suffered from this needs help, but those who are year-round residents, who work for a living, should not be pushed aside or sent to the back of the line so that the wealthy communities, winter home communities, and tourist areas can be taken care of first. Those places with 'name recognition' will get the most attention, but there are so many others who are in the same desperate need of help - they should not be forgotten.

It’s WAY to many rich people in the world not even thinking about helping these folks . Smh

Very sad stories, praying for all of the people suffering Ian Hurricane aftermath.😢

Why didn’t these people evacuate? Everyone knew how bad this storm would be? Why did they stay?

Thanks for your compassion and article and helping people to know the situation so more help can come to the people of Pine Island. Many years ago I lived in Matlacha and my heart breaks.

As heartbreaking as this story is I just can't understand why anyone living in a costal area when a Cat 4 storm is heading your way would stay? I can't wrap my head around this. What were these people thinking?

Keep them in prayers every one just keep praying for them 🙏🏾

I used to do pools in that area matlache was a very unique area 💯💯💯

Great coverage!

I lived in Bokeelia for about five or six months back in 1984, my first year out of college. I wasn't there long enough to really get to know people or stay in touch before I moved to Georgia, but I am nonetheless just heartsick for the residents of Pine Island.

I don’t have any sympathy for somebody who didn’t have the sense to get in their car and drive out of the path of the hurricane. I’m a single senior citizen and I did it.