Hurricane Ian recovery continues one year later
VENICE, Fla. - Thursday marks one year since Hurricane Ian, the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the U.S., slammed into Florida’s southwest coast.
A year after the storm, thousands are still working to pick up the pieces.
Hurricane Ian sent nearly 13-feet of storm surge through barrier islands and beach towns, leaving a 50-mile path of destruction stretching from south of Fort Myers to north Charlotte Harbor.
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The powerful Category-4 storm also caused record flooding inland, dumping double-digit inches of rain along its path through Florida.
Hurricane Ian storm surge.
At the storm’s epicenter around Fort Myers Beach, Ian damaged or destroyed an estimated 90-percent of structures.
Now one year out, several businesses remain shuttered, and many families are still without homes. Countless residents report lengthy fights with insurance companies only willing to cover a fraction of their losses.
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"My house is still inhabitable. It has even yet to start repairs because my insurance company won’t approve it at all and FEMA did very little to help me. I’m paying an exorbitant amount of rent just to survive. I’ve lost a year of equity in my home. I’m barely making it. I could be homeless in the future," said South Venice resident Carrie Smith.
Hurricane Ian damage.
"I have reached out to DeSantis, Marco Rubio, Steube to no avail. They have not returned my calls or emails and all I’m asking is for FEMA to help me a little bit more. They actually gave me $4,400 in rent relief. That does not even pay two months and that was eight months ago. Other than that, they’ve done nothing."
FEMA and the state are still housing hundreds of displaced storm victims. But the area is slowly recovering.
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Over the last year communities have celebrated the return of popular beach businesses like Doc Fords and Sanibel Beach Resort opening their doors once again after millions of dollars in renovations.
Buildings destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
"It was pretty devastated," Sanibel Beach Resort President Michael Walsh told FOX Weather of his first return to the hotel after the storm. "Even the places around our hotel were devastated to the point where I actually had a hard time recognizing where our hotel was from the water when we were anchored and ready to swim in."
Hurricane Ian is estimated to be the second-costliest hurricane ever, behind Hurricane Katrina. Damage to southern states ran to an estimated $115.2 billion.