ST. JAMES CITY, Fla. (WBBH) — At Jamie Surgent’s home in St. James City, you have to go inside to see the true state of it.
There’s a lot of work left to do to restore the property.
“We’re coming along slowly, but it’s very depressing coming in here,” Surgent told NBC2.
It has been that way – for an entire year now.
Ever since the storm, that changed everything.
One year ago, Hurricane Ian mauled Matlacha and Pine Island. It took lives. It destroyed homes. It washed out roads and even cut off the island from the mainland.
“There was really thinking about it. You just had to help,” Surgent recalled thinking after the storm.
So, she and her family did help. They used their barge to carry people and supplies on and off the island.
They were so busy helping others that they didn’t realize how much water had gotten in their own home until weeks later.
“The mold took over,” Surgent described. “That’s why we lost everything. Because it got on everything.”
In the year since, FEMA hasn’t helped, and they’re still waiting on help from their homeowner’s insurance.
The progress they have made is only thanks to local groups and workers, who have made donations and offered free labor.
“We did more with the islanders than we did with any of the outside help,” Surgent explained.
“It means a lot because that’s the only way we’re moving forward,” she added.
NON-PROFIT FORMED IN THE WAKE OF IAN
Among the groups helping islanders is the Greater Pine Island Alliance. Erin Lollar-Lambert is the executive director of the non-profit, which formed in the wake of the hurricane. She took NBC2 inside another St. James City home that was left unlivable after Ian.
“We’re talking about a family who had a premature child living in a camper that was leaking,” Lollar-Lambert described. “With two elementary school aged children and animals.”
With the use of grant money, donations, and help from partners, they’ve been working to fix homes and help families still impacted a year after the storm.
“The great thing about Pine Island is we are an island of survivors. We are here because we love it. We are a community who looks after each other,” she explained. “We look at it as every day we’re moving that needle a little bit.”
The same can be said in Matlacha. Road work continues east of the bridge, and businesses are gradually opening back up in the old Florida fishing village.
ICONIC RESTAURANT STILL WAITING TO REBUILD
Not all of Ian’s scars have healed just yet. Some damaged properties have yet to be cleaned up, and for some businesses, like Bert’s Bar, reopening will take more time.
The iconic restaurant was literally washed away by storm waters.
“I cried. Tears in my eyes, you know,” Bernard Johnson recalled seeing the devastation for the first time. “I just couldn’t believe – where was it? It wasn’t across the street. It wasn’t out there.”
Johnson owns Bert’s Bar, the home to its left, and the gift shop across the street – which somehow survived the storm.
It’s been a slog trying to settle with the insurance company for the restaurant. Once they finally do resolve it, they can start the rebuild process.
“Let’s get this done,” Johnson said. “It’s gone from the disaster to let’s get back to Matlacha and Pine Island. And get ‘er done.”
Exactly what Bert’s will look like next is hard to say for sure. The same goes for other badly damaged spots in Matlacha. Part of that depends on what happens in the permitting process.
What is known is that the people of Pine Island are tough and resilient and will continue to build back together.
“You can’t quit. You just can’t quit,” Johnson said. “I have a sign that I’ve had on my desk since I was in my 20s, given to me. And it says, ‘The key to life is how you deal with Plan B.’ And that’s what it is. Plan B.”
Johnson hopes to have Bert’s rebuilt and back open in two years – if not less.
If you need help from the Greater Pine Island Alliance or would like to support their work, click here.
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