(MATLACHA, Fla.)-- Roughly three dozen pastel-colored cottages line the only road to Pine Island, the largest island along Florida's Gulf Coast where Hurricane Ian made landfall.
To get to Pine Island from mainland Florida, drivers must first go over a bridge and through Matlacha, an island community of about 600 people -- many are commercial fishermen. Residents there live at the foot of another bridge to Pine Island that was devastated by Hurricane Ian last week and serves as the only connection to the mainland.
The sea wall, which used to keep the waters at bay, has now partially collapsed. If it's not repaired, he said, his cottage will wash away with the tide. Ian battered the southwest coast of Florida at speeds just shy of a Category 5 hurricane. At least 117 have died, making it the deadliest storm there since 1935.
"It's a drinking town with a fishing problem," joked John Hayes, who also lives in Matlacha and is known by locals as"Fishcutter John."Lynch described Matlacha as a blue-collar community without the high rises like those on the ravaged neighboring barrier islands of the popular vacation destinations Sanibel and Fort Meyers Beach. He said because it’s a small community, it’s not getting as much attention as larger tourist destinations.
When Lynch arrived at his dock, he saw that the cottage next door to his, which is owned by his 87-year-old uncle, Alan Lynch, had been reduced to a pile of rubble.Since the hurricane hit, residents have been busy trying to control the damage. Until Thursday they were still unable to leave Matlacha, so local skippers like"Mangrove Jimmy" -- who used to give mangrove kayak tours -- shepherded residents back and forth to what's left of their homes.
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