Winds and floods sweep away retirement dreams

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. – When Hurricane Helene hit two weeks ago, James Sowards knew his home near Charlotte Harbor would be flooded. He tried to evacuate – but his 2005 Chevy truck wouldn't start. He remained in his cab as the water rose over the seats.

This week, before Hurricane Milton, his starter was repaired. He spent Wednesday night at a shelter and slept in the hallway of an elementary school. As day broke Thursday morning, he drove back to Punta Gorda and found his home blocked by floodwaters.

Inside, the 71-year-old truck driver wearing a Marine veteran's cap knew he would find the same wet and moldy mess of destroyed drywall, clothing and furniture that he had been putting away – only worse. He had insurance, but it was getting more and more expensive.

“I’m thinking about just getting rid of it,” he said, looking across the water at his house. “And just get out of here.”

A little more than 12 hours after Milton made landfall in nearby Siesta Key as a Category 3 hurricane, residents of Punta Gorda, Peace River and Charlotte Harbor emerged as skies cleared to survey the damage and begin cleanup efforts.

They found that Milton's fierce winds and storm surges were so strong that large sailboats and motorboats were dumped in front yards near the city's waterfront.

Elsewhere, neighborhoods were flooded with water. Piles of debris, including furniture that was not collected from Hurricane Helene, were scattered. In some houses the water pipes were broken. The power was out, shops and gas stations were closed. Street lights didn't work.

Milton had also damaged the city's popular Fisherman's Village, an area of shops and restaurants. In a nearby marina, some of the boats lay half-sunk or rammed into docks. Some boat owners arrived bleary-eyed after a sleepless night to find their mooring lines broken and their boats damaged.

Across Florida, Milton destroyed homes, tore off the roof of a major sports facility and toppled a giant crane into an office building. Two deaths were confirmed in St. Petersburg and four more in St. Lucie County on Florida's east coast following tornadoes there. The number of power outages increased slightly Thursday as the storm ended off the state's eastern coast, leaving more than 3.4 million homes and businesses in the dark.

It had been a particularly tough night for Jeff Weiler.

The 61-year-old engineer said he believes storm surges have often failed to meet forecasts in the past.

“I always told everyone: Don’t worry about the water. They say we will see a surge. Don’t worry about it,” he said.

So he decided to stay in Punta Gorda for Milton on Wednesday night.

About two hours after reaching land, Milton heard a “crash” as the wind howled and the storm pushed seawater ashore. Part of a local harbor that had come loose in the storm surge collapsed into his home.

As the water reached about waist-deep, he began to wish he had evacuated. Instead, he retreated to his second floor while Milton marched east through Florida. “We had a swell of maybe 7 feet,” Weiler said. They also lost power and broke a water pipe.

But the worst news would come the next morning.

Last fall, he cashed in his 401(k) to buy a 60-foot boat that had long been part of his retirement dream. He eventually took it out of the shop for repairs and paid the insurance for a full year. He planned to work for just one more year.

Instead, he learned that the boat had suffered what he believed to be fatal damage.

“I just paid off my retirement to buy this boat,” he said, choking back tears as his dog Einstein sat next to him. “It’s gone.”

He needs to take care of insurance to see if he can still retire soon. But he said he was staying in Punta Gorda. He says hurricanes are unlikely to hit the area again any time soon.

Like many other areas hit by the storm, Charlotte County officials on Thursday urged residents to stay off the roads while construction crews assessed the damage and cleared debris from roads, some of which were blocked by water or trees.

Charlotte County officials, including his Emergency Management Agency We also shared information for residents who may need anything from shelter to Red Cross assistance in locating missing loved ones.

Local firefighters checked homes and boats, including checking to see if anyone was in a sailboat that landed in a city park.

Near a marina, Lee Capriolo noticed the destruction. She was in Punta Gorda visiting her son Vince when the storm hit. They boarded up the windows of his house prematurely. The house survived, although it will likely be without power for several days.

She was looking for a place of her own in Florida. After Milton, she said she still wanted to live in the Sunshine State – if she could avoid an area where such devastating floods were regularly at risk. Capriolo said she might try moving further inland.

“This is paradise. The people down here are great,” she said. “But I know I don’t want to live in Punta Gorda.”

(This story has been updated to correct a spelling/typo error)

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