UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — As rescue and cleanup efforts take place in Florida, following Hurricane Ian, two Cincinnati natives are preparing to return to their Florida home to survey the damage.
They talked to WCPO 9 News on Wednesday, when Ian made landfall, and when they were expecting the worse.
That day, video at their Cape Coral home was worrisome, with their boat and part of their property underwater.
While Karen and Stephen agree, Ian is the worst hurricane they've seen in the seven years they've lived part time in Florida, the destruction seen on TV, is worse than the pictures neighborhood friends who chose not to evacuate sent them of their Cape Coral home after the storm had passed.
"We were fortunate," Karen said.
Those pictures showed minimal damage.
"We probably lost our boat and our dock and we lost every gutter on our house," Stephen said.
So there is cleanup to be done. This weekend, Stephen will drive back down to Cape Coral, with Karen following behind by plane.
This is all happening in the middle of a move. The Pettigout's downsized their house in the Tri-State, moving to a single floor home.
Despite the chaos, the emotional toll of watching Ian unfold and all of the work ahead of them, the Petitgout's said it's all part of living in Florida, but they recognize they were lucky.
"They're still rescuing people off rooftops," Stephen said.
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