PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Thousands of members of the Army National Guard were deployed to areas hit hardest by Hurricane Ian. On Monday, we spend the day with them as they helped people in Port Charlotte.
Tiana Drossel, 22, has been with the National Guard for five years. Drossel is one of 5,000 members in Southwest Florida helping deliver food to hurricane survivors. She helped a woman named Carrol and her cat Jasper. They have no power and are running low on supplies.
“This is wonderful because well we got water back on but we can’t drink it,” Carol said.
The National Guard members were stationed in an area rotunda that sits east of the barrier islands. They’re there helping an entire neighborhood of people without power, water, food or medical supplies.
People were arriving all day asking for their share of water, ice and food to help get them through.
“They’re saying their lives have been uprooted from the storm,” Lt. Jeffrey Tyson said. Tyson said they’re fully stocked up on supplies and are also there to safeguard property and assist first responders.