PHEONIX — A Valley woman who was in Cape Coral, southwest Florida, when Hurricane Ian made landfall, says it is one of the most terrifying experiences she has ever been through.
When Jana Hambruch heard Hurricane Ian was headed toward Florida, she immediately caught a flight to help her parents evacuate and get them to safety at her sister’s house which is farther away from the water.
Though she says even there, they didn’t escape the storm completely.
“It is a very, very horrifying situation,” she told ABC15.
Jana Hambruch recounted the moment the hurricane slammed Florida, “It felt like a tornado or something pulling the doors out and that would pull the roof out. You don’t think you’re ever going to survive."
They took shelter in a bathroom.
“And we had mattresses and we had to set up pillows and stuff just to keep everybody safe,” she added.
Once the winds died down and the rain subsided, they started looking around.
“This tree got slammed and fell on top of the house,” she said while showing our crew the damage in that neighborhood, on a video call.
Hambruch says her parents' house in Cape Coral is underwater and was evacuated. She also said that some of the homes nearby are completely gone.
Her sister’s house, which is further inland, was also damaged by the storm.
“Is that a palm tree in the background?” ABC15 asked.
“It’s one of two on this house,” she responded, showing us the snapped palm trees that came tumbling down on the roof of her sister’s home.
“Her roof is destroyed,” said Hambruch.
She says while she and her family are okay, surviving through the aftermath of the storm has been brutal.
“You have no air. You have no food. You have no water. You don’t know what the next moment is going to be for your family. If you’re going to survive,” she told ABC15.
Internet and cell service are also hard to come by.
“This is it. This internet that we have right now, I might not have internet again for another 24 hours,” added Hambruch.
Her main concern right now is getting her dad the medical attention he needs.
“I can’t even get that because those doctor’s offices are closed. Some of them are underwater," she added.
And while she says there are clean-up efforts underway… “A lot of people are leaving. That’s what they’re doing. It has been really, seriously sad,” said Hambruch.
Hambruch says she’s going to stay in Cape Coral for as long as it takes because her parents need her.
“Somehow, I have to find a way to take care of them. I can’t go back to Arizona until I know they’re safe,” she told ABC15.
