FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — As Fort Myers Beach starts cleanup efforts after Hurricane Ian, officials are warning people to watch out for debris on the ground.
They're saying that debris is being tossed from balconies of high-rise buildings as crews are trying to work.
Brad Marquardt, who owns property on Fort Myers Beach, returned to his property on Sunday morning for the first time with his friend, Chuck, to check out the damage from Ian.
Tubes ran through the hallways to fight mold after water seeped into the building, with Marquardt telling Fox 4 that the storm surge reached as high as two stories.
His unit was on the sixth floor, but still sustained some damage.
“I see I’ve got tile up, it’s gonna take forever to put back down because it’s tongue and groove…it’s a small price to pay, but when I look at this, it’s amazing that this thing stood," says Marquardt.
“There’s a lot of people who had a whole lot worse than I do. My stuff’s just material, a lot of lives lost down here," he adds. “I know how tough this building is. I think I was spared, even though I lost two apartments up there. And considerable damage to my home, and lost four vehicles.
"But I’m alive. It’s material stuff, everything’s going to be okay.”
