Hurricane Ian's catastrophic damage shown in footage of Charlotte County, Florida
Fox News correspondent Steve Harrigan reports on the devastation left behind by Hurricane Ian live from Charlotte County, Florida.
Fox News correspondent Steve Harrigan described the storm-ravaged scene in Charlotte County, Florida as "complete destruction" after Hurricane Ian swept across the state Wednesday.
Reporting live from a mobile home park in the area on "America's Newsroom" Thursday, Harrigan walked through debris and remnants of mobile homes that sustained a direct hit from the historic storm.
"We have people here who are really dealing with complete destruction at this point," he said.
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Hurricane Ian's damage left behind in a mobile home park in Charlotte County, Florida. (Fox News)
"One after the other, all the way down this street, down the next street, everything's gone."
Harrigan pointed to boats stacked on top of each other, "crushed" mobile homes and more, pointing out that those who lived in the area are grateful to be alive.
"I think there's a semblance of gratitude… and the next few hours are going to be critical if people are trapped, if people are in here, we've got to see some motion," he said.
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Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her mobile home in Davie, Fla., early Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Multiple factors, including communication problems, fallen power lines and scattered debris are making rescue efforts difficult, he added, but first responders and the first signs of medical aid visited the area soon after.
Harrigan described those left to face the damage as "shell-shocked," but said survivors are willing to lend a helping hand to their neighbors regardless.
He said one man he encountered said "at least I'm alive."
"Aid from 36+ states is on the way, but in these initial hours, it is really just Floridian comforting Floridian," he said.
Harrigan said cell phone towers were destroyed and he was using a satellite phone hookup that he hadn't used since he broadcast from Iraq during the war.
Sheila Stover, a resident of Charlotte County who had just returned to see she had lost her home to the storm, described her shock on "The Faulkner Focus."
"I'm devastated. I'm just in shock," she told Harrigan. "I'm in awe over such destruction. It's just horrible here."
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Stover said she does not believe anyone was left behind in the flattened homes, since most residents fled before Ian made landfall.
"You can't prepare enough for this. You just cannot prepare enough for a hurricane," she added.
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