Lee County was the area hit hardest by Hurricane Ian when the Category 4 storm made landfall last week. For days, national and world news media detailed the island and beach devastation.

Residents of historic African American neighborhoods, however, such as Dunbar in Fort Myers, told National Public Radio that for days, rescue efforts and assistance had focused on affluent beach communities, to the neglect of Black residents’ coastal homes and properties also destroyed by the storm’s wind and water surge.

They got help nearly seven days after, when Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced Tuesday that additional resources including access to food, water, fuel and other critical supplies, were being deployed to support Dunbar residents as part of the recovery and rebuilding efforts.

But some residents who had been left without power, food, water and medical assistance, while aid was deployed to their White counterparts from wealthier Fort Myers neighborhoods, told NPR that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials, DeSantis and other government assistance were slow to respond to their urgent needs because they live in low-income Black neighborhoods.

FEMA has estimated between $28 to $47 billion in damages, and reported record numbers of homes and properties destroyed.

According to social media and news images, most homes in Dunbar were ripped apart, and multiple roofs are gone, leading to massive flooding in the homes. It wasn’t safe to go inside, some residents said.

An air conditioning unit was torn apart from one home leaving a gaping hole on the side of the house, NPR reported, and two large trees were down in the road blocking traffic. The brownish faucet water is unsafe to drink, according to NPR, and a faint smell of sewage wafts up from the street.

As of Wednesday, about 89 percent of Lee County residents were still without power due to the passage of the cyclone, but FPL said it is working as fast as it could to restore power to all residents.

“Understand that power may be out to your neighborhood, and you may not see a crew working right at your house,” said Ed DeVarona, FPL’s vice president of transmission and substation during a news conference after the storm.

“The equipment that actually serves your neighborhood, that’s actually preventing power from being restored efficiently, may be in a place where the crews are not visible to you. But rest assured, our team is working around the clock.”

Images from wealthier neighborhoods showed the Coast Guard and National Guard rescuing people from the roofs of their homes with planes and helicopters, while streets suffered massive flooding with people walking in water up near their waists.

By midweek the medical examiner’s office confirmed the death toll had reached over 100 in Florida due to the hurricane Ian. It’s not known how many Blacks died. The Lee County Sheriff’s office reported at least five deaths in the county.

The need for help was so severe in Dunbar that one Black woman who underwent a kidney transplant this year was in dire need of water.

"No water, no ice, no nothing," since Tuesday, she told NPR. "I haven’t seen one police officer come to check on the community where we live."

Gregory Williams, 45, said on social media that his hurricane-ravaged house was not insured, and he doesn’t know what to do.

"That hurricane ruined my life," he posted.