(NewsNation) — “We just prayed.” That’s how Dan Schuyler remembers the scary times he and his wife had to swim from room to room along Ft. Myers came home during Hurricane Ian.
Schuyler is no stranger to storms. Ian marks his fourth experience, but this dangerous storm destroys his home and business.
While appearing on “NewsNation Prime,” Schuyler walks through what happens during a deadly storm.
He recalled that he and his wife along with their two dogs were in the back bedroom when he said the eye of the storm was hovering over his community.
“Sounds like a freight train is about to take off,” said Schuyler.
Soon, the water reached the top of their bed, reaching about four feet in height throughout the house. At that point, he told his wife they might need to drive their SUV in the garage.
There were times Schuyler thought his family might not make it out alive, but he decided to keep it to himself.
“It actually sounded like a train was coming through the middle of the house. The water rose through the actual floor, into the ceiling, into all the windows, but I wanted to keep it cool for my wife. So you just react, and I say, ‘Let’s go to the garage.’”
From there, they grabbed their dog and hopped into the SUV. Then the water begins to rise above the steering wheel of the vehicle.
They returned to the interior of the house and went into the back bedroom and curled up in bed, waiting for the worst to end. The eye of the storm finally began to dissipate, and the wind blew.
“Water goes in as fast as it goes out. It blew it and sucked it out, very dangerous. Nothing is left of the house, boat or car. Everything is lost,” said Schuyler.
A Category 4 hurricane hit Florida the hardest. A hurricane destroys Schuyler’s home in Ft. Myers, leaving patches of damage in the area.