Nicole makes recovery harder for Rotonda residents

Residents in Rotonda who are still dealing with the large amounts of damage from Hurricane Ian are now also dealing with setbacks brought on by Nicole.

People in Rotonda and Englewood feel like they took two steps forward and three steps back.

Nicole didn’t do a lot of damage. Debris piles are still intact, and people were even out for a jog in the middle of the rain, but, “Today I was trying to save my room from the rain, but I’m changing the towels. That is the third or fourth one,” said Lina Decrescenzo, a Rotonda resident.

The struggles result from them still feeling the brunt of the impacts from Ian.

“You can see it’s coming down from here,” said Decrescenzo as she showed WINK News where water was dripping into her home. “It’s just frustrating for everybody that we can’t get things repaired and return to a normal life.”

Part of her roof was destroyed when Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28, and she hasn’t even been able to get over Ian without Nicole messing things up.

Water from Nicole is coming into her house, and she’s still waiting for a contractor to estimate her roof damage from Hurricane Ian.

“The contractor says ‘tomorrow,’ and tomorrow never comes,” said Decrescenzo.

She is reminded of Ian every day. “In the backyard, there are two docks.”

Decrescenzo woke up the day after Ian to find two docks lying in her backyard. She says no one will help her get them out.

For now, she’s just trying to keep her home livable and her memories visible.

Lina and her husband lived here for years before he passed away in 2015. Even though there’s a hole in her roof, there will always be a smile on her face as long as her memories are alive.

“Life is good. Life is good,” said Decrescenzo. “Better days will come.”