SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday morning with winds so extreme that it broke through hotel doors and windows.
In the middle of the storm is former ABC 10News anchor Stephen Clark.
"As you see right now, it's kinda windy. We thought we were kind of on the - I mean this thing passed us a couple of hours ago so we thought we were on the backside and finished with it but the winds have not stopped," said Clark.
Right now he is 30 miles south of where the hurricane hit- at a friend's house.
But his home is off of Fort Meyers Beach.
"It's just you're helpless. It just happens, you can't do anything about it. I mean we took all the stuff we could from our ground floor yesterday and moved it up to our second floor. Hopefully, the water didn't go that high." said Clark.
He knows there is water on his ground floor from the looks of his neighbor's security camera and he knows his boat is likely underwater.
Clark called the experience frightening.
"I drove into a hurricane years and years ago on the east coast and I thought that was pretty bad, but it turned out that was nothing," said Clark.
Help from San Diego is on the way.
Red Cross volunteer Richard Moore is checking in before hitting the ground in Florida.
He said when he got the news he was heading to help his first thought was, 'that's a tough assignment.'
"It looks like a tough situation there, but that's also why we do this. Why I do this is to help people," said Moore.
Moore will be inside a shelter helping the thousands of people impacted by the hurricane.
The Red Cross said everyone is welcome in their shelters and Moore plans to welcome the coastal community with a smile.
Moore, volunteer: "I will say that's one of the specific things that shelter workers can bring every morning or every evening when they show up for their shift. It's tough and people start to lose the ability to smile after a few days of being evacuated and being in a shelter."
As for Clark, he is safe.
"Too I'm just waiting for it to pass so I can go home and see what kind of damage I've got to deal with," said Clark.
You can donate to the Red Cross here.
