Aerial Drone Footage Of Fort Myers Beach Construction – December 28,2022

That picture is from 3 months ago. It's now been 3 months since Hurricane Ian came smashing through our beloved Southwest Florida. We took on wind gusts that reached 128 mph in Florida, rainfall totals greater than 20 inches, and power outages that soared past 3 million. But it was the surge that really brought the damage. According to accuweather, downtown Fort Myers saw a surge of 7.24 feet. A gauge at Naples Pier measured a 6.28-foot storm surge before the pier was seriously damaged and the sensor went offline. We saw videos or entire building being swept away. But the beach is coming back. Fort Myers Beach Construction is happening.

Drone footage taken yesterday by Brian Kennedy shows just that. You can see parked cars and people on the beach. And the big part. Construction. Rebuilding is taking place. In this video over the soon to be Margaritaville Resort you see cranes in place. You can see where the waterpark will be. You see people working.

Fort Myers Beach construction is going to go on for a long, long time. And when it does get back up to full speed it's not going to look anything like we remembered. I once took my parents to Junkanoo because they wanted to have pizza and watch the sunset. I almost got arrested outside of Hooters when the Girls Gone Wild Bus was in town (long story). What's next for the beach? It's being built right now.

Lest we forget, this is what FMB looked like 3 months ago:

Fort Myers Beach is absolutely destroyed. Our entire Southwest Florida area is reeling from Hurricane Ian. Most of us are without power and internet. We have limited cell and text messaging available. Many of you reading this are from outside of our area, so if can help:

How To Help Those Impacted By Hurricane Ian

We are currently live and taking phone calls and texts 98.1 FM, 106.3 FM, and 96.1 FM. You can also steam via the B103.9, 96K-Rock, ESPNSWFL, and Sunny1063 apps. To hear the broadcast in Spanish, tune to 99.3 fm or via the Playa99.3 app.

Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, an island off the coast of Fort Myers, just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday. With Ian, came 150 mph winds, the fifth-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. According to ABC News, "Ian then made a second landfall 90 minutes later, still as a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds, just south of Punta Gorda, near Pirate Harbor."

While the efforts to restore Fort Myers Beach will be a years long recovery, our whole area is suffering greatly. The causeway to Sanibel collapsed and the docks sustained heavy damage, making the island only accessible by helicopter. There's some areas where we don't even know yet the extent of the damage.

We will rebuild. But this is going to take a long time.

These new hurricane Ian photos from Fort Myers Beach are on the bay side, just before crossing the Matanzas Pass Bridge. San Carlos Blvd is littered with boats. Boats in mangroves, boats on sidewalks, boats on cars.

I went down to this part of the beach community to help one of my best friends look for anything that she could salvage from her parent's mobile home. The drive was narrow and precarious. We creeped along watching trucks loaded with supplies and tools  slowly navigating the debris. Business owners were directing clean up. In a neighborhood leading up to our destination, homeowners were busy pulling out clothing and possessions to dry and save.

However, when we pulled over just a a couple of blocks down, it was eerily quiet. Looking around, I did not see one person. Nor one home that survived. It was muddy and slippery. The scent in the air was rancid. My friend's family, Peter and Jane Ray, lost everything. We tried to pry open warped drawers in furniture, looking for sentimental and precious items.

Filling a few trash bags with things we thought we could save, we departed, in silence.

Her parents are now have  a suitcase full of clothing and a few trinkets left from their decades of living. What do you do next? Where do you go? How do you start over?  The sadness, the loss is profound.

The cleanup is underway in Southwest Florida but there is a long road ahead. If you suffered flood damage and do not have insurance, do not delay in filling out a claim with FEMA.

These new hurricane Ian photos from Fort Myers Beach mostly show where big boats ended up. However, you'll also see a few photos from the mobile home park off of Main Street that was decimated.

Here are some more...

I spent some time this weekend searching Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian. More specifically,  helping a friend pick through the rubble of what used to be her home.

It's the first time I've been on the beach since the storm four weeks ago. Prior to this, I helped another friend (Louise)  salvage items from her parents home off of Main Street at the base of the beach bridge. Pictures and story here. It was heartbreaking. She was with me on this second salvage trip.

Approaching the big bridge, I felt a knot of anxiety growing in my stomach. I remember the very first time I crossed that bridge. It was during the job interview that brought me to Southwest Florida. I arrived via the Palm Beach Blvd. exit from I-75. Almost 30 years ago, there were no chic high rises along the river. My first impression of the city was, well, uninspiring to say the least.

Then my soon to be boss took me on a tour. We left the station on Palm Beach Blvd. and drove down McGregor. I loved the tall swaying palms, the hidden oasis of the Edison and Ford estates. Fort Myers was beginning to look a little better.

However, when we topped the bridge going to Fort Myers Beach, I exhaled. I knew I was home. There is something about the steep incline, cresting the bridge, then seeing the beach and water unfold in front of you. It's a moment of decompression and it never gets old.  But this time I crossed it with dread. I tried to hold back the dam of tears, however the cracks were already forming and finally gave way. It was just as heartbreaking as I had feared.

We drove down Estero Blvd, hardly recognizing where we  were at times. If I had not been following my friend, Tracey Stagner, I would never have found the sandy lot that used to hold her home. Like many people, she evacuated the island as Hurricane Ian approached, never imagining the only possessions she would have were those packed in her car.

Her home was one lot back from the Gulf of Mexico. It's completely gone. Part of it ended up across Estero Blvd in the backyard of another destroyed property. She recognized the roof, her pink front door and part of her couch sticking out from underneath. Also under the pitched roof was a single, purple UGG boot. Remember the wicked witch's ruby slippers under Dorothy's house in the movie the "Wizard of Oz?" It was oddly similar.

Our mission was to try and find things that were of sentimental value to her. Like the Pandora bracelets from her father. Even a fragment of some furniture the two of them had restored while he was alive. We did not find either. However, we did find some of her favorite plates from local artist Leoma Lovegrove, still intact. Also. a battered sweatshirt from a lost love that kept her warm on a few dark nights.

At the end of the day yes, those all just "things." But when you are left with "no- things", those little things mean everything. My heart goes out to the thousands of others in Tracey's shoes. Please take care of yourselves.

Finally, here are some photos of what we found while searching Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian.

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This monkey is still holding on for dear life after Hurricane Ian on Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers Beach boats post Hurricane Ian are still strewn up and down roadways, in mangroves, homes and businesses. Removing them has proven to be a challenge.

The photos posted below are from last week. I went to the beach area to help a friend with recovery. It had been a month since the storm and although things were looking a little better in some areas, I think they looked worse in others. With some of the debris removed, I could see more of the damage.

We stopped into Bonita Bills, an iconic rustic bar on San Carlos Island, the bay side of the beach. It is next to the popular Dixie Fish Company which is also severally damaged. The docks are precarious at best.

Bonita's is not open for business but several regulars gathered to check on each other. Others were trying to help upright smaller boats that they could reach from the damaged docks. All of this while taking pictures and navigating a huge yacht out of the water and on the dock. It's nearly inside of the bar. It almost looked like it was suppose to be there. Like some prop is a nautical themed restaurant. Picture is above.

In addition, here is a video of the boat and more of the surrounding damage to Dixie Fish and the shrimp boat fleet.

This is just one small area of Southwest Florida.

Damage to marinas, docks and boats from Hurricane Ian is unprecedented. It stretches up and down the Southwest Florida coastline as well as inland. If you have a boat in your yard or trying to locate yours, this story might help you.

Giant cranes are now stationed in the area above, on Fort Myers Beach trying to help remove and save the shrimp boats. It's a slow process as each boat is as unique as it's grounded position.

Here are some more pictures of Fort Myers Beach boats post Hurricane Ian

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