The morning after NBC aired the Survival Mode documentary focusing on Fort Myers Beach survivors of Hurricane Ian, we posted the question: “What did you think?” on our Facebook page. Not surprisingly the post generated nearly 300 comments in 24 hours.
Fort Myers News-Press Arts & Entertainment Reporter Charles Runnells quoted several responses from Beach Talk Radio followers in a follow-up story he wrote about the episode that will also air on Peacock.
If you have a subscription to the News-Press you can see the full story HERE. If you do not, I’ve included the quotes that were chosen for the article below:
“I didn’t want to watch it, but it is a part of healing. And we are still healing and rebuilding. I think we all could tell our own ‘survival mode’ story. FMB Strong.”
Joni Renee
It brought all the feelings right back. I’ll never forget that day before (and the) feeling of impending doom. We left, and (we) were texting friends who stayed about how unfortunately the storm would not be a quick pass. (Our) house flooded out, and pretty much everything inside was lost. But thankful every day for our decision to leave.
Katie Wojtowicz
For those who think that there is little progress as of today … watching this should change your mind. Considering what it looked like the morning after, there has been huge progress. Very emotional. Well done. We are two miles from the beach and lost everything but the frame of our home. God bless the victims of Ian.”
Gailynn Kirk
“I was shaking and crying. (The TV show) brought back all the overwhelming fear I felt at the time. I was out of state visiting family when it came in. I kept calling neighbors who stayed behind to see what was happening in our neighborhood. I was terrified there would be nothing left when I returned. I was glued to the TV watching the coverage and doing mental inventory of all that was in my house that could be lost. We were very, very lucky. Our damage was mostly superficial. But some of our neighbors were far less fortunate.”
Kelly Utz
“They did a good job (on “Survival Mode”), but what about the rest of the area that went through it, as well? Pine island, Sanibel and Captiva, and Suncoast for example. I understand Fort Myers Beach was hit very hard, but so were other areas.”
Joseph Blais
“It was incredibly emotional. I had not seen a lot of the footage, and I think my heart sank all over again watching it. Thank God that some people actually survived the storm.”
Kim Sciano Mennen
“Unbelievable the destruction and loss that occurred and the amazing stories of survivors’ true grit. I was only a visitor of FMB at that time, and it impacted me immensely. I can only imagine living through it. Still, (I) decided to move to this awesome area last September. The determination and loyalty of the Fort Myers Beach community is truly inspiring.”
Gayle Bugger
We lived through this in real time. Randy is our neighbor and we knew they were out there. Dayna is a friend, and the horror she went through worrying that she’d never see her mother or father again, is heartbreaking. Mitch was a friend, and we heard his last post. It was all presented very well, but it kinda felt like they produced the show to sell advertising. It seemed like there was about 20 minutes of the show, and 40 minutes of commercials. I’m surprised they didn’t include other areas. We were ground zero, but lives were lost and changed forever on Pine Island, Sanibel, Iona and San Carlos Island, as well.