Hurricane Ian was an unprecedented storm that will go down in history as one of the largest to hit Southwest Florida and it will take months, if not years, to recover from.

Living here, however, means these kinds of major weather events are planned for, as they are a possibility every year. From the top down, it is up to appointed leadership to be prepared and help residents and the community get back on its feet.

Here in Cape Coral, emergency response and city leadership worked, and is continuing to work, to rebuild and restore a sense of normalcy.

As Ian was forecasted to impact the region on Sept. 28, City Hall closed its doors Sept. 27 for the storm. Bracing for what the high-end Category 4 storm could bring, the Emergency Operations Center in the Cape was staffed with personnel representing varying departments, taking in and relaying out pertinent information.

Not much can be done once the storm has arrived. You hold on tight and hope preparations were enough, and fortify a response when it’s safe, officials said.

Public Works began its first push clearing debris off of major roadways on the night of the hurricane starting at 11 p.m.

Cape Coral Police Department officials said the department stopped taking calls at 5 a.m. on the 28th, but began their first push that night, also at 11 p.m.

“We started responding to calls in order of priority after this time,” said CCPD Public Affairs Officer Brandon Sancho.

CCPD officials said from Sept. 28 to Sept. 30, there were 5,833 calls to the department, which is higher than normal.

In terms of number of officers on duty, CCPD officials said they went into their “A/B” shift rotation starting 7 a.m. on the 28th and remained in that rotation until Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

“This ensured higher-than” average staffing throughout,” Sancho said. “All of Patrol and most of the rest of the department worked 12-hour shifts every day during this time instead of their normal rotation, effectively doubling the number of officers available for patrol work, while also providing additional coverage in other areas of the city, such as for dedicated traffic management. This does not include mutual aid and other assistance that arrived.”

Cape Coral Fire Department officials said they stopped responding at 8:11 a.m. on the 28th when winds reached a sustained 45 mph. The department started responding to calls again at 11 p.m. that night when winds subsided. Officials said in the aftermath of the storm, an average of 80 firefighters were on duty each day, with a peak of 105.

According to city officials, several crews evaluated storm damage throughout our Park System and City Facility beginning Sept. 30.

“Staff from Parks Maintenance, Recreation, Revenue & Special Facilities and Golf Course participated in evaluating properties,” said city spokesperson Melissa Mickey.

The damage caused by Ian was vast and vicious, and city officials worked to give immediate assistance to residents, as nearly the entire city was without power or water.

On Oct. 2, the city began offering free potable water at two locations and opened a donation site at the Special Populations Center. Also on Oct. 2, city leaders met and debris removal crews were being recruited.

On Oct. 4, City Council held a special meeting and extended the local state of emergency. A drop-off site for debris was created, emergency permitting fees were waived, and water had been restored to 100% of the city.

On Oct. 5, a hygiene station for showering was opened and a third Point of Distribution site had been created. The next day, another hygiene station was opened.

Debris collection also began on Oct. 5.

On Oct. 9, the city began distributing free tarps at three different locations.

Emergency Permitting Locations opened on Oct. 11 at City Hall and the Art Center for residents to expedite recovery.

As of Oct. 27, 14,426 truckloads of hurricane debris from Cape Coral streets totaling 710,704 cubic yards had been picked up — the equivalent of filling 111 football fields 3 feet high.

City officials said debris will be removed from the canals by the city, however, priority is given to clearing debris from roadways. Further information will follow on canal debris removal. Call 311 to report any debris in the canals.

The city has received both praise and criticism for its preparedness and response with some residents reaching out to local media, including The Breeze.

Ted Campbell, who has six properties, all with significant damage, was among those who was originally unhappy post-storm after an LCEC pole fell on his water line, breaking it and causing a significant water spill.

The city shut the water off and he had the line repaired as quickly as possible at the cost of $225.

He then got a bill for $1,655 for city water as the break resulted in an 82,000 gallon water loss.

The city’s Utilities Department originally told him he might get the sewer portion of the bill credited and if, so, he would still owe $827.51.

With everything else to deal with, it caused a great deal of stress, he said.

However a letter to Mayor John Gunter and Utilities Director Jeff Pearson — and a little time — resulted in a full credit for which he is most appreciative.

“I think they have responded favorably and I am happy they have done that,” he said Thursday. “I think many city responded very quickly. They were on-point in getting the streets cleaned quickly and getting the traffic moving again through the major thoroughfares.

“I’m just appreciative on how the city has responded, for the most part,” Campbell said.

Cape resident, long-time educator and former Lee County School Board member Dr. Douglas Santini, along with his wife Vicki, who is the Health Department chair for the school district, are among those critical of the response and their perception of the city’s and county’s preparedness.

They wrote to The Breeze voicing their displeasure with city leadership following an Oct. 18 council meeting.

“After the storm, there was absolutely no communication,” the Santinis wrote. “On the third day, I finally saw a fire truck come down our street. They did not stop, ask how we were doing, offer assistance in any way. Again, there was extraordinarily little information on food, water and ice. It was word of mouth. Then there were long lines to wait, using all your gas waiting. This was a complete disaster compared to other hurricanes.”

They said there was a lack of shelters as well as compared to previous events.

“There were very few shelters open in this community,” the Santinis wrote. “There were trailers for homeless people to be able to go to. Now, we have homeless people with no place to go.

“It is easy to state comparing both storms, our mayor and city council were unprepared before and after the storm.”

When city officials were asked what they had learned or taken away from the storm, they said they weren’t quite ready to answer.

“With recovery efforts ongoing in our City, and people continuing to recover both mentally and physically, it is too early to respond to questions on what we’ve learned or what we’ve taken away,” Mickey said.

–Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj