People across Southwest Florida continue to assess damage after Hurricane Ian's devastating impact. Among those cleaning up are three former Connecticut residents who are now living in the same North Port neighborhood.
Gail Comstock, Kim Desjardins and Stella Bresh live within walking distance from each other. Each of their homes sustained some sort of damage from Hurricane Ian.
Comstock was born and raised in Bristol. She was inside her North Port home when Hurricane Ian hit. Comstock was inside as three of her windows blew open from the force of the winds. Water made its way inside and part of her ceiling in her sunroom ripped. Outside her home, she saw debris flying everywhere.
"It's like they came in and dropped a bomb all over the place," Comstock said of the damage to her neighborhood.
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While she has a long list of things to fix inside her home, she considers herself lucky.
"Most of these people lost their homes. I’m fortunate," Comstock said.
Desjardins, who grew up in East Hampton, is feeling lucky as well. Her neighbor's home was devastated, but she sustained minimal damage to her roof. She also has some water damage.
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“If that’s the worst, I’m doing good," Desjardins said. "Compared to all of the other folks, I’m a lucky lady.”
Most of the community is still without water and electricity. The neighbors are working together to help the people who were most affected.
Bresh grew up in Oakville. She became close friends with Desjardins while living in Connecticut and retired to the same North Port community four years ago. Bresh's home has damage on the outside, but the inside is what left her speechless.
Standing in Bresh's living room, you can see the sky. The storm caused significant damage to her roof. Her living room and guest bedroom are each covered in a heavy coating of debris. The house is a total loss.
“I can’t put it into words and I have no idea how I am going to get this cleaned up,” Bresh said. “I feel like I’m in a bad dream.”
Thankfully, Bresh is able to stay with Desjardins.
"We've been through thick and thin," Bresh said.
Hoping for help and answers, the former Connecticut women say they still love their homes in Florida and are now looking towards recovery.
