Ian slammed into Florida and is barreling toward South Carolina

Six Months after Hurricane Ian, Sanibel Island Rebuilders Are Looking Into Normal… Well Known for Its Damages and the Impact on Puerto Rico, South Carolina

Vice Mayor Richard Johnson told CNN’s Pamela Brown that every home on Sanibel Island is damaged in one way or another and people have lost everything. Ninety-five percent of homes on Sanibel Island have been visited by urban search and rescue teams, Johnson said, adding that the city is now looking forward to rebuilding, which brings its own concerns.

Throughout Southwest Florida, six months after Hurricane Ian, rebuilding is going slowly. At least 149 people were killed in the storm from flooding and 155-mile per hour winds. A powerful storm surge flattened structures in coastal areas, helping make it the third costliest hurricane on record after only Katrina and Harvey.

The chunks of dock could weigh as much as a ton, and they were ripped by the storm surge. “They were thrown around like they were nothing.”

He said it’s good for people to understand the power of a storm by seeing the destruction. So when future storms are approaching … they take our advisory seriously.”

According to Anderson, the city has no reported deaths and rescue workers are confident that they have gotten everyone. Now, the biggest need in the city is for electricity and water.

He said that residents can expect power back by a bit each day, even though 80% of the city is without power.

“I would love for people to stay at home until we are able to get the roads cleared and the power lines secured.” It is not safe out there. There are trees still ready to fall. A lot of times, there’s more deaths after the hurricane, from trees falling … people hitting power lines.”

The Category 4 storm washed away roads, bridges, cars, boats and homes. The damage is so severe that it might be years before the state is back to normal.

There were at least 125 people killed in the storm, including 120 in Florida and five in North Carolina. As of Tuesday night, Florida data provided to CNN reflected at least partial information for 72 of the state’s storm victims. Of those 72 deaths, drowning was listed as a “possible” or known “circumstance” in the deaths of 40 people.

While Ian left Florida as a tropical storm on Thursday, people in South Carolina were bracing for lashing winds and heavy rain as it developed into a new Hurricane and was expected to strengthen again by Friday.

An official flew over the community and stated that 80% of the structures will have to be rebuilt. Ian battered the barrier island with a 12-foot storm surge and winds near 150 miles per hour. The bridge to the island was damaged in the storm. Residents who evacuated and were briefly able to return to their homes are stunned by how little remains.

The Heltons’ home is on the back bay in Fort Myers Beach, part of a boating community that’s now gone. They left the island and stayed on a friend’s island. Jim was fearful about what he might find the next day.

That and a boat he discovered in the middle of his house. The house was demolished and opened to the elements. He has no idea whose boat it is or what it will take to remove it and the rest of the rubble that used to be his home. “It will probably be there for six months or a year,” he says, “because so many places have been hit.”

He tried to stay positive, but when he saw the boat inside his house and the damage done by the surge, his heart sank. “It was difficult to get in because the couches and everything were mixed together.”

“And the washing machine,” his wife Susan adds. The surge picked up everything in the house: furniture, heavy appliances, a golf cart, “and books,” Susan says, “all my books.”

“We were going to sell [the house] this winter,” Jim says. “I got over there today and there was a note by the coffee machine, ‘Call the sales lady.’ That hurt. It’s a blow he’s not sure he can recover from. He says he’s hanging in. “I’m fighting depression. I could be crying right now. but I’m not.”

On Fort Myers Beach and Hurricane Ian: How Jim and Susan Helton Metre at One More Time, and How He and Susan Will Feel

The damage from Hurricane Ian will very likely run into the tens of billions of dollars and scientists say the United States can expect more severe storms like it as the planet heats up. They also say the risks of increasingly wild weather make it all the more urgent that cities and states take steps to protect people and property.

On Fort Myers Beach, Jim believes it will be at least a decade before the island community is rebuilt. He doesn’t expect to be around to see it. In the meantime, he and his wife are thinking about Texas. He says his son doesn’t like Florida and he has a son over there. Susan says, “Neither do I much now today.”

Susan Helton has experienced trauma before. She’s a former New Yorker and was in Manhattan on 9/11. “I thought, you gave me one disaster, don’t push it. A higher power said, “Go ahead and press that button one more time, see if she can take it.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/02/1126469206/fort-myers-beach-florida-hurricane-ian

Revisiting a home in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, after a storm surge encounters a man with a difficult challenge

Jim says he thought about God and the challenge he’s been given. He threw me this curve, after a good life, and I had a good one. I’m alive,” Jim says, and then laughs. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Because I’m just about out of gas.”

One of the ways to do that is to heed lessons and rebuild wisely after big storms. In some cases it may be impractical to replace homes in areas vulnerable to storm surge over and over again.

Auroop R. Ganguly, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University, said that repeating the same mistakes is pointless. When it comes to rebuilding, he said, “there is a tendency for people to look in the rearview mirror” and assume that what we built before is still tenable.

Fort Myers Beach City Councilman Bill Veach said his 90-year-old cottage is in ruins, with only one section that was a recent addition left standing. The pieces of his home were found a short distance away.

It brings joy when you see a friend that you weren’t sure was alive. A joy that is so much more than the loss of property ” Veach added.

Susan McGuire, 49, of Tampa, FL, was found dead after a devastating hurricane on July 9, 2001 by Ian Desjarlais

Elizabeth McGuire’s family said they last spoke with her Wednesday and had been having trouble reaching her. The 49-year-old was found dead in her home on Friday.

“If you are in Florida you should know that one storm will cost you nothing,” said Susan McGuire, who moved to the state from Maryland a few years ago. My daughter is dead, the business my husband runs went out, and I never had a storm that took anything from me.

In addition to the devastation on the island itself, Ian ripped away several parts of the causeway that was Sanibel’s only access to Florida’s mainland, leaving dozens of people stranded and hindering recovery efforts.

There are a lot of places that don’t work. “There are places off of their foundation that are very dangerous.” There are snakes all over the place.

Pine Island is the largest barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast and is experiencing a similar situation. Just days ago, it was a tranquil fishing and kayaking destination known for its small-town atmosphere. It is a scene of destruction, with cracked roads and destroyed homes.

“Food is being delivered to Pine Island. Is it enough to last over a long period of time? Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said Monday that they couldn’t say that yet.

Dr. Ben Abo, who was on Pine Island, said crews were confronted by residents who were in denial that the storm was going to hit the area and were running out of supplies.

Abo said he is seeing a lot of despair, but also hope. “I’m seeing urban search and rescue, fire rescue, bringing hopes to people that we’re going to get through this. But we have to do it in stages.”

“This is not necessarily going to be a bridge you’re going to want to go 45 miles per an hour over maybe, but at least you’ll have connectivity to the mainland,” the governor said.

She cried when she heard water: A mother in a gloomy harbour tells her daughter about her father, David Park, before hurricane Ian made landfall

Thousands of boats have ended up in yards, mangroves, and sunk in shallow waters due to leaking diesel and fuel, and he painted a gloomy picture of the area.

Johnny Lauder told CNN that his mother called in a panic and said water was getting to her chest, and he sprang into action.

I heard her scream inside as the water came up to the windows. “It was a scare and a sigh of relief at the time – a scare thinking she might be hurt, a sigh of relief knowing that there was still air in her lungs.”

A group of people are waiting to hear news about a loved one. It’s been three days since she heard anything about her father, David Park, who was admitted to ShorePoint ICU in Port Charlotte days before Hurricane Ian made landfall.

Tonia told CNN that he was on a ventilator and the last contact was on Friday. No phones, nothing. I don’t know if he is still alive. I have reached out every which way I can think of, begging for information because we’re stuck. And there’s no way to get to him.”

Tonia lives nearly an hour away from Port Charlotte and is cut off from being able to reach the area by flooding in Arcadia, which has blocked access for anybody to get across town, she said.

Florida Hospital Association President and CEO, Gina Deligne, III. After Ian hit, Robert McLain and his family lived in a waterlogged rental home

Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, said that hospitals in Florida have been under pressure since Ian hit.

Emergency departments have sustained damage, staffing has been impacted as many hospital workers have been displaced or lost their vehicles in the hurricane, and facilities lost reliable access to water.

Hospitals also don’t typically discharge patients who don’t have a place to go, whether their homes were damaged in the storm or their nursing homes were evacuated and temporarily closed.

There are concern about what the damaged housing stock will mean for people with low wages or fixed incomes. People in interviews said their only option is to stay in the water- ravaged homes.

“Cities will rebuild,” said Edward Murray, a housing expert and associate director of the Metropolitan Center at Florida International University. “But what about poor communities? But what about individuals?”

It ravaged mobile and trailer homes; it submerged the first floors of houses and peeled the roofs off apartment buildings. The hurricane devastated and displaced many workers and families already living check to check — and often unseen in the shadows of coastal Florida’s luxury living.

In Winter Springs, a city of strip malls and subdivisions in Seminole County, northeast of Orlando, Robert McLain, 67, a military veteran and retired construction worker, sat in the garage of his waterlogged rental home. He couldn’t return to his home because of the high water marks. Mr. McLain, who lives on social security and disability benefits, figured there were few options but to live in his car for a while. “I’m not running to go live in the Hilton, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “I’m totally screwed.”

In one of the state’s poorer counties, a woman cried on a raised pool deck, three hours drive southwest in Arcadia, an inland agricultural community. The nearby Peace River had drenched much of her neighborhood. It submerged her backyard and house where water from the river continued to seep in, days after the storm passed.

Ms Hampton, who had property insurance but was not a flood insurance customer, said it all went away. Ms. Hampton bought a one-story ranch-style home in 1998 at a cost of $44,000. She has only an income from a disability check and will live with a relative nearby. We lost everything.

Emig told CNN she was still hopeful that her community would rebuild. She said that there is a lot of people on Sanibel who care about the island. “Sanibel will be back.”

It was less than a mile from Sanibel Island to Emig and Paskaly’s home on a windy, sandy road. The couple saw a blue street sign mangled in the mud in a pile of twisted and branches as they headed on their way. A big banyan tree with many of its branches twisted and snapped passed by, with one large branch lying in front of a neighbor’s garage.

Sanibel’s reopening to residents came the same day President Joe Biden visited Florida to see Ian’s destruction first-hand. The President, who received an aerial tour of the damage in Fort Myers, was also briefed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida officials on the response to the storm and recovery efforts.

“Today we have one job and only one job,” Biden said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. It is necessary that the people of Florida get everything that they need to fully recover.

We are very concerned about rebuilding. This could happen again, and it’ll happen again, according to Johnson. “However, we will be prepared. We will rebuild stronger and better than we were before.

How Do You Ever Get There? Julie and Vicki Emig, a Hurricane-Ian Florida Recovery Community in Sanibel Island, South Carolina

More than 2,300 rescues were recorded while more than 1000 search and rescue personnel combed through 79,000 structures in the state.

Dana Souza, city manager, says that search and rescue teams will conduct secondary searches on Sanibel Island Thursday. Unless someone needs assistance, teams won’t enter homes.

Statewide, more than 270,000 customers still have no power Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us, many of them in hard-hit Lee and Charlotte counties. Some hospitals are struggling to provide care, schools are closed, and some areas still have boil-water notices.

After Hurricane Ian hit Sanibel Island, Julie and Vicki Emig found their pool was covered with metal and wood debris.

The chaotic scene left Paskaly in a trance. She had only expected parts of their screen enclosure to have fallen, she said, covering her mouth – “How do you ever start with this?”

One week after Hurricane Ian ravaged Sanibel Island, Julie and Vicki Emig looked at their destroyed mailbox.

In their garage, the couple found an item on top of a shelf filled with water, leading them to believe the surge reached at least 5 feet. The floor was covered with sludge and it was slippery. Their Mini Cooper was filled with water and mold.

I knew that I was going to lose it, but when you look at the scene, it is quite large, and it is not clear what we are going to do. Through tears, Emig said.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/us/hurricane-ian-florida-recovery-wednesday/index.html

Surfing on the Islands: A Hurricane-Induced Florida Recovery Event on Wednesday. The Sanibel/Pines Islands

Others also felt the wrath of Ian. The owner of the property management company Sanibel Home Concierge had to warn several of their clients that their homes were beyond saving.

It is so upsetting to hear them on the other end of the phone saying that their home was destroyed. It is a heart-wrenching experience for me.

Steve andLori took shelter at their friends house in the storm. They were on the island for a few days but by the time they finished, they didn’t feel like they had time to leave.

It is possible to see damage in a helicopter but it doesn’t do it justice because there are massive power lines, concrete utility poles, and tons of debris on the ground.

Some areas of Sanibel and Pine islands may not have power restored for a month or more, according to Karen Ryan. “It will be much easier to restore power once we can gain access to the island,” she said.

An estimated 6,400 people lived in the City of Sanibel as of April 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. There is a large amount of tourists that come to the island each year.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/us/hurricane-ian-florida-recovery-wednesday/index.html

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is Open after Hurricanes Ida and Gustav in the Early Stages of Hurricane Irrecovery

Neighboring Pine Island residents should be able to access their community by car later Wednesday, DeSantis announced, when crews are expected to complete a temporary fix for a part of a damaged bridge washed away in the storm.

Darrell Hanson and about 120 of his employees are working to save what they can at the Salty Sam’s marina in Fort Myers, some of them are dealing with the loss of their livelihoods.

Ty was at home with his family when the storm hit, working on a pirate cruise. He said that the home and his family are safe.

“Many of our employees, even on the pirate ships, my crewmates, they lost their houses, they lost everything,” Landers told CNN. “Hopefully when the time’s right they’ll come back. They are putting it all back together after their lives fell apart.

In the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ida, residents of Charlotte and Lee counties will have the option of getting temporary blue coverings with fiber-reinforced sheeting at no cost for their roofs.

In Charlotte County, which is north of Fort Myers, public schools will be closed until further notice after several of its 22 schools were damaged by Ian. The storm stayed here for over 12 hours. Mike Riley is the public schools spokesman in Charlotte County.

Chad Oliver said he didn’t know how many kids would show up for school, but he did say public schools will open Thursday. More than than 22% of the district’s teachers live in hard-hit Lee County, but Oliver says the district is confident it is ready to reopen with the help of more than 800 substitute teachers.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/us/hurricane-ian-florida-recovery-wednesday/index.html

A High-Redshift Woman’s View of Hurricane Ian and the High-Density Sun: What Do You Ever Learned About His Journey?

We had all the generators ready, we were ready. We had plenty of fuel. What we couldn’t anticipate and didn’t anticipate was the loss of water from our utility companies,” said Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and CEO of Lee Health.

Homes the storm tore from their foundations blocked the streets leading to her house, which she found ablaze when she arrived, she told CNN in an interview Wednesday.

Later, combing through the ashes, Hernstadt found just one item unscathed: a candlestick holder her great-grandmother carried in her pockets as she emigrated from Poland to the US.

She said that it was the most prized possession of hers, and she believed it gave her a sense of hope even on the holiest day of the year. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

Editor’s Note: Cara Cuite is a health psychologist and assistant extension specialist in the department of human ecology at Rutgers University. Rebecca Morss is a senior scientist and deputy director of the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The views expressed here are their own. You can read more on CNN.

It is possible that people in the areas of Florida that were hardest hit by Hurricane Ian didn’t have a good experience with storms of this magnitude. It is likely that the millions of people who have moved to Florida over the past several decades are from areas that don’t get hurricanes. Some people knew about the danger too late in Ian.

Meteorologists’ forecasts of Ian’s probable track changed as the storm approached landfall, as forecasts typically do. The storm moved to the south and areas such as Lee County, which had a lower chance of a direct hit, were directly in Ian’s path.

Ian increased its wind speeds dramatically as it passed over the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico before it landfall, possibly due to climate change.

Getting Help Before You Leave: The Impact of Nicole on Volusia County, Florida, During the Decay of Trip Valigorsky

Emergency managers typically need at least 48 hours to successfully evacuate areas of southwest Florida. However, voluntary evacuation orders for Lee County were issued less than 48 hours prior to landfall, and for some areas were made mandatory just 24 hours before the storm came ashore. Lee County has an emergency management plan that outlines an amount of time.

While the lack of sufficient time to evacuate was cited by some as a reason why they stayed behind, there are other factors that may also have suppressed evacuations in some of the hardest hit areas.

If people don’t know their evacuated zone, they won’t follow the orders. Many people don’t according to research from other areas of the country. That is the reason the websites in the affected counties are important. Some of the websites crashed in the days before the storm because so many people were checking their zones.

Public officials and the media should continue to provide concrete information about where, how and why to evacuate, which can be critical factors in people’s decisions to leave.

Many lists of available shelters included clear indications of whether they were pet friendly or could accommodate individuals with special needs, which was likely helpful to the more than 33,000 people who used the public shelter system. However, among those who did not evacuate, pets and disability continue to be cited as reasons, indicating that more outreach and evacuation support is needed in these areas specifically.

Trip Valigorsky’s beachfront home in a tight-knit community in Volusia County, Florida had been in his family for nearly 15 years before it was washed away this week, as the dangerous storm surge and powerful winds caused by Hurricane Nicole swept across Florida.

In Volusia County, at least 49 beachfront properties, including hotels and condos, have been deemed “unsafe” in the aftermath of Nicole, which hit Florida’s eastern coast south of Vero Beach as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday before weakening into a tropical storm and eventually becoming a post-tropical cyclone Friday afternoon.

Sea level in this part of Florida has risen more than a foot in the past 100 years, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and most of that rise has occurred in the past three decades.

Sea level rise is already leading to more erosion and high tide flooding, researchers warn.

Brian McNoldy told CNN that the seawalls are more vulnerable due to the back-to-back nature of storms.

On the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole, a Los Alamos resident and her daughter, Michael Valigorsky, says she doesn’t understand what she saw

On Wednesday morning, Valigorsky decided to grab his essential belongings and his dog to evacuate the area as he watched the storm become even more severe. By the time he returned, all that remained of his home was the garage and the front foyer.

As his community begins to rebuild their neighborhood in the aftermath of Nicole, Valigorsky said he plans to reconstruct his home alongside his neighbors who also lost theirs.

Martin said he has lived in the area for two years and the home was his permanent residence where he spent time with his children and grandchildren, playing soccer in the backyard or walking down to the beach.

“There’s no politics at the beach, everyone gets along,” Martin said, adding that his community and those surrounding Wilbur-By-The-Sea are keeping his spirits high.

“It doesn’t really take a strong storm – you just need high tides or storm-agitated tides to wash away or put extra stress on the walls,” he said. “Having these two storms six weeks apart, if you don’t give places any time to repair or replenish, each storm definitely leaves its mark.”

Arlisa Payne, who has been a resident of the beachfront community for most of her life, told CNN affiliate Spectrum News 13 that she’s “never seen anything like this” after assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Nicole.

Many of the homes in her neighbor’s community did not get damaged by Hurricane Ian, but they were struck by Nicole and it was hard for the community to prepare for such storms.

On Floridas’ Gulf Coast Developers’ Eye Properties Rravaged by Hurricane Ian: Tom Sampsons, Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Many here see it as the end of an era. Many of the vacationers who used to visit Fort Myers Beach were from the Midwest. Miller says it was the working man’s beach. A lot of Mom and Pop type businesses.” There was a community of cottages and not condominiums and there were million-dollar homes. He claims that we are the exact opposite of South Beach.

Lee County isn’t as upscale as many of Florida’s coastal areas. According to a report by the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, 28% of renters in that county are low income or paying at least 40% of their income to rent.

The Sampsons own a home in Fort Myers Beach – it’s still standing. Their neighborhood was a mess one month after Ian hit, with many of the homes that were there now gone.

One double lot has been sold, and we don’t know how much it was or who it was for. It’s like, oh yes, that’s fast,” he said. I’m afraid. We are going to lose all that beauty we shared.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1143088346/on-floridas-gulf-coast-developers-eye-properties-ravaged-by-hurricane-ian

Real Estate Investors are Seizing The Momentum After Hurricane Ilanlan. On Floridas Gulf Coast Developers — Eye Properties Rravaged by Hurricane Ian

In 2021, Florida’s real estate industry accounted for $294 billion, or 24% of the gross state product, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. The state of Florida has more than 300,000 people move there each year.

Two affordability concerns are emerging among residents as developers turn to Southwest Florida: flipping damaged single-family homes, rendering them unaffordable for long-term residents, and the construction of larger luxury complexes.

Brad Cozza, who owns real estate brokerage in southwest Florida, said new out-of-state investors – from Wall Street hedge funds to major hotel chains – are already looking at new investments in the region.

Cozza added that his firm has already been involved in acquiring 39 properties since Hurricane Ian. One of his clients bought a damaged home in Cape Coral, across the bridge from Fort Myers, for $670,000. It is expected to sell for over $1 million after renovations.

New players are coming to the area, and values are going to jump because they’re in the same area as before the storm.

This is just market dynamics, according to Cozza. Many homeowners did not have flood insurance so they can’t afford to rebuild, and that’s an opportunity investors are seizing.

It’s expensive to build new structures up to code and most have been rewritten to make houses better able to handle disasters, according to the director of the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center.

“Older houses are more affordable, in general,” Meyer said. “And so when you wipe out an older housing stock, even just building new, period, is going to be more expensive.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1143088346/on-floridas-gulf-coast-developers-eye-properties-ravaged-by-hurricane-ian

On zoning for single-family homes in Lee County, Fla., after hurricane Irene Meyer and DeSantis lost their home

Federal disaster recovery money to help homeowners rebuild does exist. States have received hundreds of million of dollars from HUD in the wake of hurricanes to provide loans to lower-income homeowners.

But Meyer expects it will take one or two years before that money is available in Florida, since the state first needs to submit a funding plan to HUD for approval. She said officials could encourage homeowners not to sell out of desperation, and instead find a way to have them rebuild their property and remain in the home.

Zoning for single family homes can also help maintain the housing stock for lower-income residents, Meyer said, by preventing larger high-end complexes.

Jason Green, an independent zoning consultant for the town of Fort Myers Beach, spoke at the Local Planning Agency’s meeting on Dec. 6. He said he doesn’t expect there to be a big change in the town’s local regulations in the coming months.

“There are some duplexes, there’s a few triplexes and quads worked in there over the years,” Green said in reference to zoning in Fort Myers Beach. “But for the most part, you’ll see that there are single-family homes.”

There is a person who has been living in the area for more than 50 years, who is trying to stop a project. She is president of a local nonprofit organization and lives on the waterfront steps away from the town’s commercial fishing docks.

But one month before Hurricane Ian, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Cabinet overturned that decision, green-lighting the project and paving the way for more density across Lee County’s hurricane-prone areas. When an administrative judge in Florida strikes down a change to the state’s Comprehensive Plan, the governor and Cabinet vote on whether to approve that decision, said attorney Ralf Brookes, who represents Semmer.

Chapel by the Sea: A “Functional” Paradis for Residents and Residents of a Southern Isotropic Island Town

Chapel by the Sea was the oldest church on the island. “You can see how the front of the sanctuary was just devastated.” But the storm’s impact was unpredictable. He says that you can see a beautiful stained-glass window on the front of the church.

Atterholt is living temporarily in one of those newer homes. Many people in a town that had 6,000 year-round residents have not been able to return to their homes since the storm. A few hotels have begun welcoming guests. The beaches are open, although a red tide algae bloom has led to big fish kills. There are food trucks, but few other amenities for visitors.

Things will change by next year, says Atterholt. He says, “We’re going to have what I call a functional paradise once again.” He expects hotels and condos will be open and the town will be ready for Spring Break in 2024.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/28/1165410279/hurricane-ian-fort-myers-beach-slow-rebuilding

The Florida Hurricane Harvey Shock Hit Fort Myers Beach: How Much Have I Been Done? A Conversation with Bob Doster, Jim Moore, Doug Miller, and Bruce Boykin

The line of cars snaked down the road at Beach Baptist Church recently for a chance to win some drywall for their home. Charlie Doster took the maximum available, 25 sheets saying, “I need probably five times this many.”

Doster is fixing his home after it was flooded. He’s staying nearby, but it will take at least six months for him to return to his house. He laughed at the question of whether his insurance helped. He says no. “I think we got $700 you know which doesn’t go far.”

It’s a story you hear all the time. Because most of the damage on Fort Myers Beach came from storm surge, only those with flood insurance received significant insurance payouts. The homeowners here have had a hard time with their windstorm claims. Many long- time residents here are being forced to sell and leave the island because of the slow and inadequate insurance payouts.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is supporting legislation aimed at propping up the state’s troubled insurance industry. But he says complaints about how insurance companies handle claims are being investigated. He said at the recent news conference that anyone who isn’t meeting obligations should be held accountable.

Since the day after the storm, Doug Miller has been giving away breakfast and lunch at Beach Baptist Church. He owns and runs a chain of restaurants. “I have spoken to a lot of people,” he says. Two of the three people I talked to had a positive outcome.

Big changes are underway on Fort Myers Beach. A huge new resort, Margaritaville, was under construction when Ian hit. It’s slated to open later this year. There are cranes and jackhammers working at the Pink Shell Beach Resort. The resort’s owner, Bob Boykin says as terrible and destructive as the hurricane was, it now provides the island with an opportunity to build for the future. “This is a chance to…do probably 40 years of (development)…in what will probably look like four or five years.”

One of Boykin’s concerns is where he’ll find housing for his employees. Pink Shell lost two cottages in the storm. Some employees commute from their homes around 30 or 40 miles away. “Everybody is faced with this situation,” he says.

On nearby Sanibel Island, a non-profit corporation supported by the city provides nearly 90 workforce homes, some of which were destroyed in the storm. Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith says those homes will be rebuilt and the city is working to add more. She says, “We had an issue before Ian. Now, by Ian it’s just magnified to such a degree that we have to…make sure people who want to work and live here can afford to.”

He says, “Our push for that is that we can get kids into those apartments that then funnel (them) into the school system. We want that school to come back on the island. But to do that, we’re going to have to provide houses for those families to live in.”

Town officials are working on a new comprehensive plan that will determine what the new version of Fort Myers Beach will be. The height limit will be raised and new hotels and condo buildings will be taller, according to the Vice Mayor. “But I don’t think it will be a repeat of Miami,” he says. I don’t think you will see the skyrises. It will change because everybody’s going to have to build up because FEMA requires that now. And that will create a different flavor here because you won’t see so many of the old ground level cottages.” The buildings should be higher to protect themselves from flooding in future storm events.