Restaurant owners hope FEMA aid will help them rebuild
Heidi and Axel, a German couple whose restaurant of 10 years, Heidi’s Island Bistro in Fort Myers Beach, was destroyed with nothing but piles of wood. FOX Weather’s Nicole Valdes reports.
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided $420 million in aid to those who lost everything in the aftermath Hurricane Ianand while that’s welcome news for people trying to rebuild, that money may not be available to everyone.
FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes was on the field in Fort Myers Beach, Floridatalking to first responders and victims of the deadly hurricane about the long road to recovery.
She spoke with Axel and Heidi Wimmer – the owners Heidi‘with Island Bistro Fort Myers Beach. They said they still haven’t been able to get to the island to see the damage.
But they already know where things stand.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT: LOCAL PLUMBER VOWS TO REBUILD BUSINESS STRONGER THAN EVER AFTER HURRICANE IAN
-
FORT MYERS BEACH, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 04: The devastation left behind by Hurricane Ian is shown on October 4, 2022 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Southwest Florida suffered severe damage during the Category 4 hurricane that caused extensive damage to communities along the state’s coast.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images) -
It’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida’s Gulf Coast. The residents there are committed to recovery and rebuilding, despite the obstacles facing them.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
It’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida’s Gulf Coast. The residents there are committed to recovery and rebuilding, despite the obstacles facing them.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
It’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida’s Gulf Coast. The residents there are committed to recovery and rebuilding, despite the obstacles facing them.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
It’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida’s Gulf Coast. The residents there are committed to recovery and rebuilding, despite the obstacles facing them.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
It’s been more than two weeks since Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida’s Gulf Coast. The residents there are committed to recovery and rebuilding, despite the obstacles facing them.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
Piles of debris litter the landscape in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, after Hurricane Ian made landfall in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray / FOX Time) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows us the devastating scene in Fort Myers Beach after the deadly Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in late September.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
The few surviving Fort Myers beach houses sustained damage.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Ruined homes and buildings still litter Fort Myers Beach 2 weeks after the storm.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Debris from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach more than two weeks after the storm brought deadly storm surges to Lee County, Florida.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Debris from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach more than two weeks after the storm brought deadly storm surges to Lee County, Florida.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Debris from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach more than two weeks after the storm brought deadly storm surges to Lee County, Florida.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Debris from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach more than two weeks after the storm brought deadly storm surges to Lee County, Florida.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Debris from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach more than two weeks after the storm brought deadly storm surges to Lee County, Florida.
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
Stedi Scuderi looks around his apartment after it was flooded when Hurricane Ian passed through the area on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images) -
Catastrophic damage from Hurricane Ian was seen in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
( ) -
There are signs of hope amid the tragedy as progress is made Friday in Fort Myers, Florida, but there is still much work to be done. �
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather) -
There are signs of hope amid the tragedy as progress is made Friday in Fort Myers, Florida, but there is still much work to be done. �
(Robert Ray/FOX Weather)
“It’s gone,” Alex said. “It’s completely gone. There’s nothing left.”
The Wimmers had expected to look at what was left of their work on Tuesday, but that is no longer possible. So they’re hoping to get a glimpse of the damage on Wednesday.
“We just cry all the time,” Axel said. “Every time I see pictures of Fort Myers Beach on the news, it’s so sad.”
But, he said, the worst part is knowing that so many lives were lost because of Hurricane Ian.
MOST OF HURRICANE IAN’S 100-PLUS VICTIMS IN FLORIDA DIE BY CHOKING, DATA SHOWS
‘I don’t know how we’re going to do it’
Check out these satellite images that show just some of the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers and Sanibel.
The process of clearing debris and beginning to rebuild is already underway across Southwest Florida, and the assistance provided to those affected by Hurricane Ian will help make the process a little easier.
However, there is one problem.
The Wimmers moved from Germany to the US 13 years ago and are in the country on an investment visa.
So the couple and business owners aren’t sure if they’ll qualify for FEMA assistance, even though they’ve applied and are anxiously awaiting a response from the federal government.
“We’re hoping we can rebuild somehow,” Heidi said. “But it will be, we’re in an investment visa situation, and we’re probably not. We might not have a chance to get help. But we want to stay here. We belong here. We have so many friends here.”
HERE‘HOW TO DONATE TO THOSE AFFECTED BY HURRICANE IAN AND FIONA
Heidi said she feels a variety of emotions as they try to rebuild.
“I was welcoming guests and I can’t even imagine not seeing them anymore,” she said. “And, of course, we need work to survive. We all need to earn money. So there are so many different emotions. I’m just upset. I don’t know how to hold on because, again, we’ve lost everything.”
Heidi said she and her husband put everything they had into the restaurant, and now it’s all gone.
“We are normal, working people,” she said. “We’re not millionaires. And every penny we had, we made in this business, and it’s completely gone.”
A GoFundMe was created by friends of the Wimmers to help them and their business get back on their feet.
But despite everything, they said they were hopeful.
“We’re still strong,” Axel said. “We’re getting help from friends. We’ll be back somehow. For sure. For our guests, and of course for us.”
#Restaurant #owners #hope #FEMA #aid #rebuild
