'It Crushed Everything': Florida Resort Destroyed By Hurricane Milton

EXTENSIVE. LET'S BRING IN, FOX WEATHER'S ROBERT RAY OUT OF MANASOTA KEY. YOU KNOW, RESIDENTS ALLOWED TO COME BACK, ROBERT, BUT, NOT NECESSARILY TO RETURN. TO THEIR RESIDENCE FULL, TIME, BUT MORE THAN LIKELY TO ASSESS WHAT'S, LEFT OF THEIR BELONGINGS. YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING. HERE. GOOD MORNING. FROM. MANASOTA KEY, BASICALLY IN BETWEEN FORT MYERS. BEACH AND SARASOTA.. REALLY A GEM, A BEAUTIFUL. SPOT HERE ON THE GULF COAST AND WITHOUT EXAGGERATION, BY FAR IN, OUR JOURNEYS THIS WEEK, COVERING THE AFTERMATH, ALL THE WAY UP AND DOWN. THE GULF COAST. THIS IS THE WORST STRUCTURAL DAMAGE THAT WE HAVE SEEN, AND EXPERIENCED WITH OUR, OWN EYES. AND, YOU KNOW,, BEHIND ME IS THE MANASOTA. RESORT HERE, MANASOTA KEY, RESORT, A PLACE THAT'S. BEEN HERE FOR DECADES, A, STAPLE FOR MANY FAMILIES,, AN INSTITUTION REALLY.. AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS, IN BAD SHAPE. AND I'M JOINED HERE BY RAY AND. MEGAN, BOTH OF YOU, WITH. THE MANASOTA KEY RESORT., GREAT. GREAT TO SEE YOU.. GREAT TO SEE YOU, MEGAN.. THANK YOU FOR THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE SORRY ABOUT WHAT HAS OCCURRED HERE. WE KNOW YOU GUYS ARE. GOING THROUGH JUST. INSURMOUNTABLE CHALLENGE. WHAT HAPPENED? I'LL START WITH YOU, RAY. WHEN MILTON CAME IN, IT JUST, STARTED TAKING EVERYTHING. IN ITS PATH. I THINK HERE. FOR THIS STORM, IT WAS, MORE THE WATER THAN ANYTHING, ANYWHERE THAT OUR SEAWALL HAD FAILED., IT JUST. IT TOOK. BUILDINGS. IT TOOK. PLANTS, IT TOOK ROADS AND PARKING LOTS. IT JUST CRUSHED EVERYTHING RIGHT, UP AND WASHED IT AWAY., WE'RE STILL TRYING TO, LOCATE CERTAIN AREAS AND. CERTAIN THINGS. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY ARE., IT'S JUST NOTHING LIKE. WE'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE. EVEN THROUGH IAN AND. HELENE JUST A FEW WEEKS. AGO. THIS IS DEFINITELY. BY FAR THE WORST WE'VE, EVER SEEN. THE RESORT AND, REALLY THE WHOLE THE WHOLE KEY. I MEAN, IT'S. NOT JUST US. IT'S, EVERYBODY ON THE ISLAND ALL THE WAY UP TO THE.

NORTH END. YOU KNOW,. WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER AND WE'RE, YOU. KNOW, WE'RE ALL JUST, I THINK, JUST DUMBFOUNDED, ON HOW POWERFUL THIS, THING ACTUALLY TURNED OUT, TO BE AND HOW MUCH DESTRUCTION THERE REALLY. IT LEFT IN ITS PATH. AND,. MEGAN, WHEN YOU FIRST. CAME UP ON THIS, I MEAN,. YOU KNOW, THIS AREA WELL, WHEN YOU FIRST CAME UP, AND SAW THE AFTERMATH, WHAT WAS YOUR GUT FIRST REACTION? IT'S JUST, HEARTBREAKING. YOU KNOW, IT'S TEARS. AND ALL OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS HERE,. IT'S JUST WE SPENT SO. MUCH TIME REALLY TRYING. TO PERFECT THIS FOR OUR FAMILIES THAT ARE HERE YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND IT'S. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE NOTICED IS THE, COMMUNITY HAS BEEN SO, WONDERFUL IN TIMES LIKE, THIS THAT IT'S JUST IT'S, JUST DEVASTATING TO SEE., AND WE'RE WE'RE HOPING WE CAN ASSESS IT AND, REBUILD. BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS. RIGHT NOW. AND IS, EVERYONE OKAY ON STAFF.. IS EVERYBODY FARING ALL, RIGHT. THEY'RE ALL SAFE, AND SOUND. WE WERE ABLE TO EVACUATE WELL AHEAD OF. THIS STORM. YOU KNOW, WE SENT PEOPLE AS FAR AS, GEORGIA. SOME WENT TO. ORLANDO AND WERE SAFE. BUT EVERYONE'S ALL YOU KNOW, ACCOUNTED FOR THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL. ON THE MAINLAND FOR THE, MOST PART, THEIR HOMES. EVERYONE'S OKAY IN THAT RESPECT. WE'VE HAD A, COUPLE OF TEAM MEMBERS, RETURN AND IT JUST IT'S. USUALLY MET WITH TEARS. AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'VE. BEEN IN THIS SINCE IAN FOR A LITTLE OVER TWO. YEARS TRYING TO REBUILD, AFTER THAT AND PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER AND THEN JUST TO KIND OF SEE IT WIPED OUT JUST THAT FAST, ALL THE HARD WORK AND THE, TIME AND THE EFFORT THAT,. YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU POUR YOURSELF INTO SOMETHING, A PROJECT LIKE THIS. BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW,. AN OLD FLORIDA TOWN, YOU. KNOW, IT'S VERY PERSONAL TO THE NEIGHBORS. YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST IT'S. HEARTBREAKING. YOU KNOW,, IT'S YOU GOTTA YOU GOTTA HOLD YOURSELF TOGETHER.. BUT WE'LL BRING IT BACK. YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE WE'RE ONLY ABOUT A DAY.

AND A HALF ON THE ISLAND., WE JUST GOT HERE. OURSELVES TO BE ABLE TO, SEE IT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN. CLOSED OFF. SO WE'RE JUST, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, WHERE WE START AND WHERE, IS OUR BEST EFFORT. YOU. KNOW, FOR FIRST AND FOREMOST TO STAVE OFF THE, PROPERTY. THERE'S JUST. THERE'S SINKHOLES AND THINGS JUST MISSING ALL OVER THE PLACE. BUT WE'LL BE BACK FOR SURE. IT'S JUST RIGHT NOW TRYING TO GET THAT PLAN, ALONG WITH THE COUNTY AND THE REST. OF THE PEOPLE ON THE KEY. TO RESTORE SOME NORMALCY, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE., MEGAN, YOUR MESSAGE FOR, EVERYONE THAT THIS. PROPERTY MEANS A TON TO THAT MAY BE WATCHING US, RIGHT NOW. YOUR MESSAGE GOING FORWARD TO ALL THE, FAMILIES AND EVERYONE,. JUST EVERYONE STAY SAFE., AND, YOU KNOW, WATCH FOR ANYTHING YOU CAN HELP, LOCALLY BECAUSE THERE'S A. LOT OF RESTAURANTS IN. THIS AREA THAT NEED HELP.. ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORS. SO, I THINK IT'S JUST KIND OF FOLLOW IT AND SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP. AND, YOU KNOW,, REALLY WE'RE WE'RE HERE TO REBUILD IT. BOTH OF YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH.. AND WE'LL BE THINKING OF YOU AND WE'LL WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW UP AS, THIS PROGRESSES. AND, AND THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT, YOU KNOW, AN. ESTABLISHMENT, A STAPLE. LIKE THIS WILL MAKE A, COMEBACK, RIGHT? WE WILL, WE WILL BE BACK FOR SURE. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.. ABSOLUTELY. GUYS. WE CONTINUE TO HEAR THE PERSEVERANCE AND THE. HUMAN FORTITUDE UP AND DOWN THE GULF COAST.. ANOTHER EXAMPLE HERE AT. THIS GREAT RESORT ON AN. AREA THAT HAS JUST BEEN. DECIMATED. BACK TO YOU., YEAH, IT'S THAT. RESILIENCY, RIGHT? I MEAN, THIS IS PRIME REAL ESTATE. THIS IS RIGHT ON THE OCEAN. THIS IS WHERE EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO JUST TO FEEL CLOSER TO. MOTHER NATURE IN SOME. REGARD. RIGHT. AND THEY. WILL COME BACK. AND I, KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE. ALREADY ANTICIPATING. FINDING A WAY TO GET BACK AND SUPPORT THESE. BUSINESSES, ROBERT, AND. HOPEFULLY GET PEOPLE BACK, IN THEIR HOMES. SO,