Farmington Hills woman rides out Hurricane Ian in Florida

FOX 2 - Cathy Cordle of Farmington Hills is sharing her experience hunkering down through Hurricane Ian in Orlando with her elderly father.

"We’ve had really about 24 to 36 hours of straight wind and rain," she said. "It really culminated in the middle of the night, last night."

She’s been in Florida for some time, caring for her dad and thought they’d enjoy a nice getaway to Epcot at Disney World. But Mother Nature had other plans, and confined them to their hotel.

"It was loud, because the wind is loud enough," Cordle said. "And then it’s blowing the rain horizontally so you’ve got the rain hitting the windows directly."

Fearing the storm before it hit, they thought about going back to their Florida home - until neighbors gave them the sobering news.

"The neighbors said, 'If I were you, I wouldn’t come back in this direction,' we’re like okay," Cordle said. "So we just extended our stay here. But there’s a lot of waiting, and just kind of, it’s like holding your breath before the shoe drops."

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Cordle says parts of greater Orlando are in the dark and underwater. They are carefully plotting their next move.

"Our plan is that we are going to head back to Bradenton tomorrow. Bradenton is between Tampa and Sarasota, and currently we know that we have no power," she said.

Cordle will eventually be joined by other Michiganders, anxious to see what damage Ian left behind.

"A lot of the snow birds haven’t gotten down here yet," she said. "This is about the time when they start coming, so I’m sure are a lot of people who are going to be checking, have their neighbors checking, and letting them know what’s up with their property."