A lady was tragically died during Hurricane Ian when a nail from a crumbling roof entered her heart as she and her companions were vacationing in paradise to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Nishelle Harris-Miles left Dayton, Ohio for Fort Myers, Florida, shortly before the hurricane hit, according to Harris’ cousin Chanel Maston for WLWT.
The group used a sheet to attempt to keep together as water inundated the room, according to Maston.
We lay on the mattress, bound to one another with sheets. That water sprang from the floor really quickly. The roof was hitting us hard.
We attempted to kick off the roof and lie on the mattress, she continued. It kicked off the roof in order to prevent it from colliding with us, and when the roof fell, so did we.
In order to reassure his family members back in Ohio that the group was safe, Maston shared footage of the destruction on Facebook.
We began phoning folks before the water really started to rise, she said.
I dialed 911. I dialed 211. Nobody responded when we summoned everyone to get us out of there.
The roof of the house was repeatedly battered by the continuous wind and rain until it ultimately caved in, trapping Harris-Miles and rupturing a major artery.
According to her relative, “She got caught beneath.” A nail penetrated her major artery. On September 23, she turned 40. Just just turned 40.
September 29 marks her passing. Facebook postings indicate that the remainder of her group was allowed to travel home on September 30. She is still buried in Florida.
Before they were rescued, the gang spent 14 hours locked inside the house.
She adored everything, Maston praised, adding. She loved life.
On her Facebook page, Harris-Miles expressed a similar perspective, writing, “I love to have fun, enjoy myself, you only live once.” She continues, “If it doesn’t earn money, then it doesn’t make sense,” on that profile.
According to her daughter’s post on Facebook, Harris-Miles’ house in Dayton, Ohio, hosted a balloon release on Sunday in her honor.
‘I love you sister and I wish the heavens enjoy your company as much as we did,’ a friend said about the victim on Facebook. You were undoubtedly the party’s life and soul.
Your energy will undoubtedly reverberate with us till we next cross paths, the message said.
I’m so glad we got to spend your birthday with you, a different friend wrote. I’m so glad I told you that before we left, I loved you. I’ll always miss you.
The death toll from Hurricane Ian surged above 80 on Sunday as aggrieved communities in Florida and the Carolinas faced a recovery projected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some politicians faced criticism for their reaction to the disaster.
The death toll was anticipated to keep increasing as floods receded and search workers pushed further into places first shut off from the outside world.
Hundreds of people have been rescued as emergency services searched through houses and structures swamped by water or totally wiped away.
The hurricane diminished Saturday as it swept across the mid-Atlantic, but not before it washed away bridges and piers, hurdled enormous boats into buildings ashore and shredded roofs off houses, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity.
The majority of the fatalities recorded in Florida were from drowning in storm seas, but some from Ian’s devastating aftereffects. An elderly couple died after they lost electricity and their oxygen devices cut off, officials said.
As of Saturday, more than 1,000 people have been evacuated from flooded regions along Florida’s southern coast alone, Daniel Hokanson, a four-star general and chief of the National Guard, said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Saturday that multibillionaire businessman Elon Musk was supplying some 120 Starlink satellites to ‘help bridge some of the connectivity challenges.’
Starlink, a satellite-based internet system designed by Musk’s SpaceX, will deliver high-speed access.
Utility companies in Florida were working to restore power. As of Sunday morning, about 850,000 houses and businesses were still without power, down from a record of 2.67 million.
In Washington, the White House announced that President Joe Biden and first wife Jill Biden will fly to Florida on Wednesday. However, a short statement made no mention of the anticipated visit.
The hurricane wrecked the bridge to Pine Island, the biggest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, making it only accessible by boat or by air. Residents were canvassed door to door by the volunteer organization Medic Corps, which sends pilots, paramedics, and physicians to assist in natural catastrophes throughout the globe.
People who were evacuated by helicopter spoke of the anguish of being stranded in their houses as the water level continued to rise.
Chris Schnapp was checking on the status of her 83-year-old mother-in-evacuation law’s from Sanibel Island on Saturday at the Port Sanibel Marina in Fort Myers. Schnapp’s mother-in-law was not among the people from the island who came in a pontoon boat with luggage and animals.
She decided to remain on the island. There, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law own two enterprises. They ran away. Schnapp said that she did not want to go.
She said that she was uncertain as to whether her mother-in-law was still on the island or had been moved to a shelter.
A volunteer rescue squad went door to door on Pine Island, the biggest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, asking locals whether they wanted to be evacuated while buildings were reduced to splinters and boats littered the streets. As the water continued to rise, many recalled the anguish of being trapped inside their houses.
Joe Conforti fought back tears as he narrated, “The water just continued hitting the house and we saw, boats, homes — we watched everything just go flying past.”
He said he wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for his wife’s suggestion that they jump up on a table to dodge the rising water: “I began to lose sensitivity,” said the victim, “because there’s no way you’re going to survive that when the water is at your door and it’s slapping on the door and you’re watching how quickly it’s flowing.”