In recent days, the number of calls have doubled at Hatch’s organization as people recognize they cannot rebuild their lives - and overcome trauma - alone. “The whole street - nothing’s left,” she said. Mao Lin walked an hour Thursday to reach the plot of land where she had lived on Fort Myers Beach, which looked like a blast zone. Returning to a flood-ravaged home that needs to be gutted to prevent mold from taking hold or, worse, reduced to splinters and scrap metal and scattered like confetti is heartbreaking. Living out of a duffel bag or suitcase in an evacuation center is disruptive, stressful and depressing. Riding out a deadly storm amid screaming winds, pounding waves and rising waters, or escaping as danger closes in is terrifying and traumatic. “There’s times when there are these little glimmers or slivers of hope. The storm knocked out power to 2.6 million and caused billions of dollars in damage. Even a week after it passed through, officials warned that more victims could yet be found as they continued to inspect the damage. It killed more than 100 people, the majority of victims in Florida, making it the third-deadliest storm to hit the U.S. It later cut a watery and wind-battered swath across the Florida peninsula before turning out to sea to regain strength and pummel South Carolina. With sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph), it was one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit southwest Florida. Hurricane Ian hammered Florida with such ferocity that it wiped out whole neighborhoods, tossed boats onto highways, swept away beaches and swamped homes in roof-deep waters. “They need that hand-holding and they need to know that there’s so many people here to help them.” “When someone’s in a state of trauma that so many are in, they don’t know where to begin,” said Beth Hatch, CEO of the Collier County, Florida, branch of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. More pressing needs for food, shelter and clothing often take priority to seeking counseling, which is in short supply even in good times. The emotional toll in the days, weeks and months after a hurricane, flood or wildfire can be crippling.
Two men in their 70s even took their own lives after viewing their losses, said the medical examiner in Lee County, where Ian first made landfall in southwestern Florida. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. For those who lost everything to a natural disaster and even those spared, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone.
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