we met they were left without power in central florida. falling debris, tornadoes, life-threatening storm surge. in some cases, we need to rebuild rather than simply repair. reporter: cruz look to restore power. floodwaters continue to rise. crews are using airboats to pull people from their homes. in 2004, we had a hurricane, but it wasn t that bad. we took off there was water in the street, but not like this. the destruction in southwest florida, massive. homes underwater, torn apart. some, even on fire. people s entire lives, uprooted by ian. these images show how powerful
underwater. streets littered with abandoned cars, roofs torn off, boats, floating in debris. rushing water and last-minute escapes, category 4 hurricane ripped through. our house flooded. it just started going deeper and deeper. by the time we were walking out, we were made by in water. reporter: carrying out water rescues, even though some of their own were flooded. he says the water reached 2 or 3 feet in his house. that will give you some sense of how much water was here. there was at least three feet of water. reporter: fort myers, among the hardest hit. those pictures, memories.