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Travelers flying from Toledo to Hurricane Ian-ravaged Florida unsure what to expect

One passenger said he's been told meat and gas are very hard to find.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Many travelers boarded the earliest flight they could find Wednesday at the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport as they made their way to hurricane-ravaged Florida.

Many of them had a desperate need to fly south, either to help with cleanup efforts or survey their own property. Hurricane Ian leveled many areas of southwestern Florida last week and the death toll Wednesday rose to 109.

Before boarding their flight to Punta Gorda, Florida, many northwest Ohioans were told they should be prepared to face inadequate living conditions and a lack of resources.

Alexa Goodell

"[We were told] to think ahead about what materials you are going to need and how many people you are going to need to help you, and think about what resources that are available to you," Alexa Goodell said.

Chris Batch is concerned about what he'll experience upon his return.

"I've heard that there's no meat down there, so I was told to bring meat with me, which I didn't," he said. "There's no gasoline which is hard to get and ice is hard to get."

Batch is returning to Florida after fleeing from the hurricane. He said what was supposed to be a beautiful memory quickly turned into a nightmare.

"We were down there on our 10-year anniversary," Batch said. "My wife and I decided the hurricane was going to be heading for Tampa. We thought we could sit it out. We started seeing the water rising and by the time it was getting too high we could not get in our car and exit because the streets were flooded."

Other passengers say the natural disaster is still impacting their family and friends in Florida and they feel it's their duty to do what they can to help.

The Toledo Express passengers said they chose today's flight because it was the earliest flight available and helping Florida sooner rather than later should be everyone's primary goal.

RELATED: From Ft. Myers Beach: WTOL 11 reporter shares first-hand experiences while helping her family in Florida recover after Hurricane Ian

RELATED: Biden, DeSantis put aside politics in post-Ian Florida visit

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