Rescue missions are racing against the clock as survivors run out of food and other essential supplies four days after Hurricane Ian left a path of devastation across southwest Florida.
"Some people come out and have no idea what’s going on," said Lt. Junior Grade Joshua Welch with the U.S. Coast Guard National Strike Force.
The elite team of specially trained men and women are often the first contact for victims since Hurricane Ian turned their lives upside down.
The strike force navigates areas that are hard to access using 15-foot rubber inflatable boats looking for people cut off by the storm.
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"We can go into areas of the island that maybe a larger boat would not be able to go to," he said.
On this mission, they see some homes that are relatively put together - others completely destroyed.
On Sunday, the strike force headed to hard-hit Matlacha and Pine Island – where the destruction is hard to fathom.
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"It’s a sad sight to see but people are coming together," Welch said.
One by one, residents and pets were brought to safety.
"We had generators, we were running out of gas, the baby had no milk," Bob Soffe, a resident rescued from Pine Island said.
"I just think it's a beautiful thing," said Tim Clancy, whose dogs were also rescued from Pine Island.
Welch said the rescues are difficult but rewarding.
"It can be exhausting," Welch said. "We work together as groups and there’s a lot of camaraderie there."
The work won't end when rescue missions cease.
The strike force will remain on Florida's southwest coast – turning their attention to pollution monitoring and the long clean up.
