EXCLUSIVE: 'We fought for our lives!' Fort Myers boat worker tells how he and his uncle miraculously survived 8ft flood waters by clinging onto their trailer and using debris to float to safety

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A staircase, likely dislodged from a hurricane-wrecked boat saved the lives of two Florida men who managed to use it to float away as their flood-stricken home vanished beneath Ian's rising waters. 

Now Shawn Hunte has told DailyMail.com how he and his uncle Leonard Hunte escaped as Florida residents pick up the pieces from the apocalyptic scenes in and around Fort Myers. 

'We fought for our lives,' Hunte, 55, told DailyMail.com as he stood outside his wrecked San Carlos Island mobile home. 

The fishing boat worker miraculously survived after waters eight feet deep suddenly engulfed his trailer on the spot where he had lived for 22 years – leaving both men to cling perilously to the outside.

Suddenly a small staircase made of fiberglass and foam bobbed by them. Hunte grabbed it in desperation and used it as a flotation device, taking his 77-year-old uncle with him.

The pair floated down to another trailer and lodged themselves in a safer – but still precarious – position to ride out the horror.

San Carlos Island resident Shawn Hunte with the boat staircase made of foam and fiberglass that saved his life

On nearby San Carlos Boulevard, smashed boats up to 60ft long were littered at all angles. Governor Ron DeSantis said the tsunami-like flooding was a 'once in a 500-year' event and revealed it has left 2.7million without power across his state

Hunte, a fishing boat worker, miraculously survived after 8ft flood waters swamped his trailer. Homes are seen submerged under water from the flood 

Many emerged on Thursday morning to witness the devastation to their communities, with some bursting into tears at the sight of their belongings destroyed 

'We misunderstood or maybe didn't anticipate the gravity of the hurricane in this area – how fast things would happen,' Hunte said. 'So we stayed and we got caught out. By the time we were ready to make any kind of move we were already four feet under water.

'We rode it out, literally. The water surged up to eight feet and by that time we were both outside the home and clinging to the roof, in the swirling water.'

He continued: 'Suddenly what looked like an old fiberglass and foam filled staircase floated by and I grabbed hold of it to use it as a flotation device. It probably came off a boat – and it saved my life.

'We had just been holding on and we were desperate. We both thought this is it, we're going to die.

'I snatched the staircase and floated down to another trailer where I got stuck in a corner and felt relatively secure. I went for the ride. My uncle as well.

Hunte said he was lucky to have a life jacket on and always keeps one in his trailer. 

'We just rode it out for around fours hours, waiting for the water to subside. Who wouldn't think they weren't going to die. Somehow we survived,' he said. 

Hunte added that not evacuating was a 'chance we took.' 

'We shouldn't have taken it but it all happened so fast.

'The water flashed up suddenly. At 12 noon, no water. By 12.30, bang, the water came up to four feet and then it started to come like crazy, man.

'By 2pm that bad boy was eight feet high. Me being alive is miracle.

'I was here for Hurricane Charlie in 2004 and this was something else, man. This was unbelievable.'

Hunte, who has lived in the same spot on San Carlos Island for 22 years, told DailyMail.com: 'Me and my uncle fought for our lives here'

Boats are seen crashed into homes on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Biden declared a 'major disaster' in Florida early Thursday morning. The clear up cost is set to be billions

The hurricane blasted ashore with catastrophic force on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 storm, packing sustained winds of 150mph and smashing homes with an 18ft wall of water in some areas

Businesses, their buildings all made of timber and metal sheet, lay smashed and sheared apart by the horrific force of Ian

Boats that were tied up at Getaway Marina were strewn like toys. Many remain trapped in their flooded homes across Florida and two million are left without power

On San Carlos Boulevard, smashed boats up to 60ft long were littered at all angles. 

Businesses, their buildings all made of timber and metal sheet, lay smashed and sheared apart by the horrific force of Ian.

At Getaway Marina, the top half of the building was missing entirely. Underneath it was a crushed mess of timber beams – destroyed by an incredible 18ft storm surge.

A 50ft boat that was tied up on one side of the marina's building lay strewn like a toy.

Sean Rink, 24, who is associated with the business, told DailyMail.com: 'When we got our last update through video link the water was up to the second story and that boat over the road was still sitting here.

'We had an 18ft storm surge and nobody expected it to be that colossal. And it just stayed on top of us for hours. It just kept hitting us. It didn't stop.'

Rink's girlfriend Camille Lumbert, 20, is the marina manager. She was desperately sifting through the shattered second floor timber. Asked what would happen now, she just shrugged.

Tourists Tim and Taylor Kwalton, both 30, walked over the bridge from Estero Island to San Carlos Island pulling their suitcases – after escaping with their lives

Dave Perry and his dog Roxy lived on a houseboat on San Carlos Island, but left when the hurricane threatened. Now he has returned to find he has no home 

Tourists Tim and Taylor Kwalton, both 30, walked over the bridge from Estero Island to San Carlos Island pulling their suitcases after escaping with their lives.

They were heading back to their home in Cincinnati, Ohio, following their horrific experience.  

Tim said: 'We had no choice – hide in a closet for six hours in the hope that we could survive. Thank God we did. 150 mph winds – just terrifying.'

Taylor said: 'We were on the second floor of a small condo. Half the building lost its roof. The building was shaking.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the coastal Fort Myers area as 'ground zero' on Friday as relief efforts begin. The death toll in Florida had reached 21 on Friday morning but is expected to rise steeply as more bodies are found.

Fort Myers Beach, a town of about 5,500 on one of the barrier islands off Fort Myers, was '90 percent' destroyed in the storm, Town Councilman Dan Allers told CNN.

'Unless you have a high-rise condo or a newer concrete home that is built to the same standards today, your house is pretty much gone,' he added.

Walking amid the wreckage of destroyed marinas on Friday morning, the mayor of Fort Myers, the larger mainland city, marveled at the Category 4 storm's destructive power.

'Just look at the boats. These are some large boats. And they've been thrown around like they were toys,' Mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN. 'They were thrown around like they were nothing.'