‘I don’t know how we can make it’: Restaurant owners hopeful FEMA assistance can help them rebuild

Name: Satellite images show the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers and Sanibel
Uploaded: 2022-09-30T08:34:18-04:00
Duration: 50 s
Description: Check out these satellite images showing just some of the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers and Sanibel.

Heidi and Axel, a German couple whose restaurant of 10 years, Heidi's Island Bistro on Fort Myers Beach, got destroyed with nothing left but wood pilings up. FOX Weather's Nicole Valdes reports.

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'We're crying all the time': Couple loses Fort Myers Beach restaurant due to Ian's destruction

Heidi and Axel, a German couple whose restaurant of 10 years, Heidi's Island Bistro on Fort Myers Beach, got destroyed with nothing left but wood pilings up. FOX Weather's Nicole Valdes reports.

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided $420 million in assistance for those that have lost everything due to the effects of Hurricane Ian, and while that's welcome news for people trying to rebuild, that money may not be available to everyone.

FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes has been on the ground in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, speaking with first responders and victims of the deadly hurricane about the long road to recovery.

She spoke with Axel and Heidi Wimmer – the owners of Heidi's Island Bistro in Fort Myers Beach. They said they still haven't been able to get onto the island to see the damage.

But they already know where things stand.

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"It's gone," Alex said. "It is totally gone. There is nothing there anymore."

The Wimmers were anticipating going to view what's left of their business on Tuesday, but that is no longer possible. So, they're hoping to get a glimpse of the damage on Wednesday.

"We are just crying all the time," Axel said. "Every time I see in the news pictures of Fort Myers Beach, it is just so sad."

But, he said, the worst part is knowing so many lives were lost because of Hurricane Ian.

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'I don't know how we can make it'

Check out these satellite images showing just some of the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers and Sanibel.

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Satellite images show the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers and Sanibel

Check out these satellite images showing just some of the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers and Sanibel.

The process of clearing debris and starting to rebuild is already underway across Southwest Florida, and the assistance provided to those who have been affected by Hurricane Ian will help make the process a bit easier.

There's one problem, though.

The Wimmers moved from Germany to the U.S. 13 years ago and are in the country on an investment visa.

So, the couple and business owners are unsure if they will qualify for FEMA assistance, though they have applied and are anxiously awaiting a reply from the federal government.

"We, we hope somehow we can rebuild," Heidi said. "But it will be, we are in the situation with the investment visa, and probably we are not. Maybe we have no chance to get help. But we want to stay here. We belong here. We have so many friends here."

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Heidi said she's feeling all sorts of emotions as they try to rebuild.

"I was greeting the guests, and I can't even imagine not seeing them anymore," she said. "And, of course, we need work to survive. We all need to earn money. So, it's so many different emotions. I am just anxious. I don't know how we can make it because, again, we lost everything."

Heidi said she and her husband put everything they had into their restaurant, and now it's all gone.

"We are normal, working people," she said. "We are not millionaires. And every penny we had, we have done in this business, and it's completely gone."

A GoFundMe was created by friends of the Wimmers to help them and their business get back on their feet.

But, despite all that, they said they're hopeful.

"We are still strong," Axel said. "We are getting help from friends. Somehow we will be back. For sure. For our guests, and of course, for us."