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Aerial Drone Footage Of Margaritaville Fort Myers Beach Construction – February 2023

Author Joe Winner
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Hurricane Ian destroyed our beautiful town of Fort Myers Beach. 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 of entire buildings being swept away. But the beach is coming back.  Construction is happening. Especially at Margaritaville

Drone footage from 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. The guest rooms, restaurants, and facilities are taking shape. Margaritaville is leading the charge in building back Fort Myers Beach.

My biggest takeaway from this video is the color.

Previous videos and pictures from the beach always felt so bleak. The color in this video gives hope. Maybe it was just a bright sunshine day that made things so much brighter. Maybe it’s the progress. When they started, Margaritaville was just going to be a part of Fort Myers Beach. Now it’s going to be the focal point of the rebuild.

The rest of the town is coming back, too. Albeit slowly. Here’s a look at some of the other parts of the beach.

Gallery: Life On Fort Myers Beach 4 Months After Hurricane Ian

Saturday January 28th was the four month anniversary. The Town of Fort Myers Beach took a catastrophic direct hit from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Ian was a category 4-plus hurricane. Sustained winds were clocked just a few miles per hour short of a category 5. Bur the real damage wasn’t just the wind. It was the surge. All that water. Like nothing we’d ever seen. Life on Fort Myers Beach changed immediately.

But Southwest Florida is building back. I live in Estero and today the roofer was at my house making repairs. He sent me a picture when he was done. So happy. My friend bought a house on the river that was completely flooded. She’s currently refurbishing it and plans to move in. We’re doing this. But the people on Fort Myers Beach have a much longer way to go.

If you’re not a beach resident, but want to help out by putting some money into the local economy, here’s a list of what’s open.

Getty photographer Joe Raedle came over from Miami to take some pictures at the beach. He captured pictures of life on Fort Myers Beach including rv’s, tents, and pods that people have turned into the temporary homes. The beach will rebuild, it will just take time. Because the people in these pictures – they aren’t going anywhere.

Joe Winner spends his days combing through memes and off beat stories to bring you the side of Florida not always seen.

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