IONA, Fla. — Driving through the Century 21 Mobile Home Community in Iona, you might find a few cars in the driveways, but the people who live there are not home. 

“I can’t stay here, it’s a shoebox,” one resident told us. 

We managed to find just one person who was outside packing up their car to leave before the storm impacts become too severe in Southwest Florida. Most of the other neighbors were long gone on Tuesday evening. 

“You don’t fight mother nature, so no, I’m not sticking around and hanging this one out, I am getting out of here,” said Peter Panagiotros. 

If anyone knows the dangers mother nature can bring, it is Panagiotros. He lived through the January 2022 tornadoes that ripped through the community he lives in. 

“I’ve been struggling to put it back together and it’s just cost me a fortune. Now I am starting to get things back together and I am fearing that I may lose it all again,” said Panagiotros. 

There are about 50 homes in the community at Century 21. 

“It’s been about an hour since I’ve seen anyone else leave. They all left pretty quickly after the mandatory evacuation was announced for us,” said Panagiotros. 

Some of the homes are still damaged and have been left vacant since January. 

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