Florida residents frustrated with hurricane response

(CNN) - Ten days after Hurricane Ian left hundreds of thousands of people devastated with many still waiting for help, time is growing increasingly critical for those with dire needs.

But frustration is rising for many residents struggling to get back on their feet.

As many face long lines, massive phone wait times and others feel their communities are not the main priority.

In some hard-hit Florida communities, decimated by Hurricane Ian, Governor Ron DeSantis praises the efforts by local, state and federal officials.

"Folks who are in difficult circumstances now because of the of the storm, just hang in there."

But more than one week since the disaster slammed into the state, survivors became more and more frustrated with the governmental response from the local to the federal level.

"I have no income, no car, and I went in to apply for FEMA and just found out that somebody's already applied, a fraudulent claim using all my information, my social security number. so I have to call the fraud hotline now to see what's going on," Susan Dettor, a Fort Myers resident, said.

Harlem Heights

Almost all of Floridians are losing their patience.

Many facing long wait times on the phone, or lines stretching for hours outside of FEMA disaster recovery centers, trying to get the help they so desperately need.

Many are still in the dark or relying on generators.

As of Saturday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us, more than 53,000 customers had no power statewide.

And then there's the community of Harlem Heights, where some feel they're being completely overlooked in the federal response.

"I don't have to live on Sanibel or Ft. Myers to be "one of the people they care about" because to me it seems like that's all they care about right now," Mary Broomfield, a Harlem Heights resident, spoke.

So far, officials say the death toll from Hurricane Ian is at least 125 people, with 120 of them in Florida and five in North Carolina.