Surviving The Storm
By Joe Yapello, Sun Publisher
When it begins to rain and thunder, Angelika Geerlof’s heart begins to pound. Surviving Hurricane Ian with her son and two dogs at home on Sanibel Island could do that to a person. “I have nightmares when it storms. I have heart palpitations and often wake up trembling,” Angelika said. “Almost everyone that I personally know that stayed during the storm are suffering the same exact symptoms as my son Kristopher and I do.” She often recalls a family trip with her husband and two children in 2004 that changed her life forever as they drove over the causeway heading to the island. “I felt as though I had come home. Part of my soul was immediately captivated,” she recalls while seeing the incredible beauty and vibrant colors of the approaching island.
It would take six more years – and the death of her husband Raymond of 20 years to lung cancer in 2009 – before she could realize her dream and find the peace and tranquility that Sanibel Island would bring into her life after such a loss. Born in Germany, Angelika moved to New Jersey when she was only 3ó years old. She became fascinated with photography when her father had given her a Kodak Brownie camera. That inspired a life-long hobby that would eventually turn into her life’s work. When she finally arrived on Sanibel her passion was driven by the beauty of the island. “I have never had a course in photography,” she said. “I am self-taught.
My first book – Sanibel Moodscapes – has photography in it with several different cameras, the least expensive being a $79 Vivitar.”
During her first year on Sanibel, Angelika had produced five different calendars, her first book, and 10 postcards. “My current boss and good friend, Daniel Thompson – owner of Suncatcher’s Dream – was my first customer,” she said. “He was interested in everything I had to show him.”
From that point forward, Angelika’s photography would become a mainstay on the Island for the next 12 years. Her love and passion for the beauty of Sanibel and Captiva would be lovingly captured and documented for the enjoyment and appreciation for residents and visitors throughout the islands. Then on Sept. 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian’s powerful winds and deadly storm surge would nearly end everything she had built and loved about her small island paradise. If not for the quick thinking of her son Kristopher, much more than her home, personal belongings, and many of her photographs would have been lost that day.
“On the day of the hurricane, I prayed throughout the night for God to keep us safe,” Angelika remembered. “I had prayer beads that my mom had given to me awhile back that I actually found weeks later buried in the mud of the wreckage that had once been my home.”
At around 11 a.m. the water began to breech her home, coming up first into her bathroom and then into the living room. She put her two dogs inside the bathtub as both she and Kristopher tried to move valuables to a higher level. But it was all for naught. It took just five minutes for the water to go from their ankles to their waists – a total of 15 minutes from their feet to the chests. They were both trapped inside as the surging water and wind pinned them inside.
“I realized we could not get out of the house. The wooden doors were being held shut by the surge from the Gulf of Mexico,” she explained. “But Kristopher instinctively lifted out one of the sliding glass doors. It fell on top of him, but he was okay – we each grabbed one dog and made our way out hoping to reach a neighbor who had asked us over in case things got too bad.”
Even before they could manage a few steps outside, they soon realized that they could no longer touch the ground. Both were pushed in different directions from the surge. “With my neighbor’s home in view, I could see that Kristopher managed to grab onto a nearby palm tree. But I was swept past their home with nothing to grab onto. I tried in vain to pull myself up onto the roof of the next home. I was being bombarded with branches and whatever else was in the surging water.” Angelika recalled.
She was pulled underneath the raging waters several times. She knew she was about to drown but she never gave up. “I recall the very last time I was pulled under…I yelled up to God, ‘I am not coming, I am not ready yet!’”
For the next three hours Angelika struggled in the water to swim back to her neighbor’s home – the entire time holding onto her terrified pet. Kristopher was still clinging to the palm tree holding the other dog. Finally, she managed to make it to the back of the house where her neighbor punched a hole in the lanai and pulled her dog through. She swam back to the front steps which were totally underwater and made it to the top. And then Kristopher managed to reach the steps as well.
They were both safe – for now. Angelika had placed her cell phone in a zip lock bag before they left their flooding home. When she took it out from the top of the steps, there was still a six percent charge left. She somehow found the strength and courage to snap several photos of the raging waters they had just escaped from. Those photos, plus many others she took after the waters receded and in the coming days, weeks, and months – have all ended up in her new book – After the Storm, A Post Ian Photo Anthology.
Exhausted and in shock, they both spent the remainder of the storm inside their neighbor’s
home as the house shook and the windows rattled for what seemed like an eternity. When it was finally over and the waters had receded, they were able to head back outside and survey the damage and what was left of their paradise island – total devastation in every direction.
The time had come to leave Sanibel Island.
“One family who had been transporting residents from the island with their own boat took us to Punta Rassa,” she said. “There were hundreds of survivors just like us, bewildered and helpless, not knowing what would come next. Another family volunteered to take us around to various hotels that were either closed or filled to capacity. We finally ended up at the Hertz Arena. It was freezing cold, and we relied on the blankets and clothing from the rapidly incoming donations. We were treated with such kindness and compassion during our stay.” They weren’t able to make it back to the island until Oct. 12. Once there, they were saddened with the total devastation of their home, but blessed and thankful to be alive.
Today, almost two years later, they are still struggling with the changes and working hard to rebuild their lives, both living back on Sanibel.
In a portion of the prologue of Angelika’s latest book After the Storm, she poignantly writes:
Our Sanibel, what was once a lush and vibrant green was now a brown and withered landscape with trees destroyed and cut in half. There was an abundance of bugs. There were weeks (and for some months) of no water and/or power…Our belongings and vehicles were being hauled away, one teardrop and one memory at a time! Yet, the destructive force of Ian could not destroy our spirit! He was strong and powerful, but Sanibel and her residents have proven to be stronger! My book is about resilience and survival. It is the essence of resilience which proves that Sanibel is in us, and we are Sanibel. …
The months after Ian were times spent in sadness, disbelief, shock and more adjectives of emotion that I can possibly enumerate. However, we were humbled, we stood strong, neighbors became friends, and friends bonded like family. We all have our story of Ian’s impact. Lives were uprooted and forever changed. …
If you would like to help in Angelika’s continued effort at recovery or would like to purchase any
of her canvases, totes, works of art, or books, please visit her website at www.moodscapesllc.com or you can email her at [email protected]. Also, visit her on Facebook: Sanibel Moodscapes as well as Instagram: Saniblemoodscapes
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