<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0akrdo_0miYC3Ib00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0akrdo_0miYC3Ib00" width="1280" height="720" >PINE ISLAND, Fla. — Today marks the start of hurricane season. Here in Southwest Florida, it is hard to forget the devastation we saw from Hurricane Ian last year. Now some people still recovering are having a hard time getting prepared for future storms. Erica Gehring lives along Date Street in Saint James City. She is feeling a little uneasy now that afternoon storms have returned. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>“If you asked me yesterday afternoon, do you have PTSD? I would say no, but this morning, I will tell you maybe I have a few things to work through,” said Gehring. Her home is still damaged from Hurricane Ian, but she claims to be one of the lucky ones. “I think we are good — 85%, but like I said we were so fortunate that we were able to live on the upstairs portion. We do have a downstairs bungalow that was completely taken away, but that is being repaired,” said Gehring. Gehring rode out the storm at her home. She said she found refuge in the bar and restaurant down the street, The Low Key Tiki. Owners Johnny and Erin Smith provided free meals and shade for people who had nowhere else to go.“We had a lot of our seniors who couldn’t leave the island so Johnny would let them come and sit here for any medical treatment they might need and wait for their ferry so they could go back to their friends and family off island,” said Gehring. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate>It was the same story down the street at the American Legion. Terry Roberts said they were serving up to 700 meals a day. “The post was not only a legion or a military post. It opened to the whole island,” said Roberts. Both Roberts and Gehring say helping neighbors got them through an extremely difficult time.“I don’t know of anyone who stayed on the island that didn’t do something to help somebody else,” said Gehring. Everyone we talked to today stayed on the island when Hurricane Ian hit. Many of them say they will never leave.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

PINE ISLAND, Fla. — Today marks the start of hurricane season. Here in Southwest Florida, it is hard to forget the devastation we saw from Hurricane Ian last year. Now some people still recovering are having a hard time getting prepared for future storms. Erica Gehring lives along Date...