In addition to sand, debris, bacteria, raw sewage, and industrial chemicals now polluting the pools and spas of some of the worst hit areas of Florida, pool owners have discovered a variety of unwelcome inhabitants in their pools.

Andrew Jarosh, a resident of Matlacha, one of the hardest-hit areas of Southwest Florida, was one of the many who suffered at the Hurricane Ian’s hands. His apartment experienced wind and flood damage, leaving it uninhabitable. But while Jarosh can no longer live in his home, Ian made sure that something else could, when it dropped a two-and-a-half-foot-long ray into his now saltwater swimming pool.

“The first day I made it to my condo in Matlacha, three days after Ian, I came by boat,” Jarosh said. “While surveying the damage, I saw the ray swimming, doing circular laps around the pool. I could not find a net because of the property destruction, and by the time I found one the next day, the ray, washed up into the pool from Matlacha Pass, was nowhere to be found.”

Jarosh said he looked for the animal during his daily visits but could not find it. He thought it would probably be found dead at the bottom of the pool after it was drained.

“But on Saturday, while meeting with an adjuster, I pointed to the pool and how the saltwater intrusion meant big repairs. And then I saw him, and took two pictures of him happily swimming laps again,” Jarosh said.

Tammy Vetter, who bought her Cape Coral home just five days before the hurricane struck, currently has small fish swimming in her pool.

In Fort Myers Beach, a storm surge of as much as 15 feet, with waves pounding even higher, washed a Ford F-150 pickup truck into someone’s swimming pool.

The coastal town is home to thousands of boats and yachts that are currently stuck between buildings, tangled in trees, smashed into cars, and stacked on top of one another.

Some of these boats have been wedged into swimming pools, according to an article appearing in the Wall Street journal. According to the article, cranes and trailers have to be used to extract them, with straps that crews use to turn the boats after they are lifted.

Ray washed into Florida pool.

Photo credit: www.wgcu.org