In Ian's wake, worried families crowdsource rescue efforts
Desperate to locate and rescue their loved ones, social media users are sharing phone numbers, addresses and photos of their family members and friends online for anyone who can check on them after Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida
Many people whose loved ones stayed behind in the pathway of Hurricane Ian are crowdsourcing rescue efforts as they grapple with the helplessness of waiting and not knowing.
In TikTok videos and Facebook posts, families are sharing their desperate pleas and strangers are answering their calls, even as local officials urge people to use official channels for help.
Hannah Foltz had assumed her grandparents, Janet and Larry, evacuated from their mobile home in Naples. But when the 35-year-old in Indiana heard from her mother, she learned they had not only stayed but the water that flooded their home was almost chest deep with the fridge floating. Her 75-year-old grandmother didn’t know how to swim.
“We were all in like pure panic mode, sitting in Indiana, crying, feeling helpless," Foltz said.
