Hurricane Ian: Witnessing the aftermath on Sanibel Island and Florida’s southwest coast | 60 Minutes

Why are all the new reporters obsessed with Sanibel Island? The majority of those homes were $1 million dollar homes. Those people will be fine. Talk about places like San Carlos Island which has been neglected and forgotten by the news media.

I stayed here in North Fort Myers...we were in the edge of the eye for 6 hours...it stalled for an hour less than a mile away from my area...you know your helpless when your sitting on the floor of your bathroom for 10 hours while your house is shaking and you hear metal folding and shingles bouncing off your home and car...crazy feeling..my neighbor got 137 mph on his wind meter...very long day mentally and physically...and I was a lucky one

Unfortunately, This is what happens when you live only inches above sea level. Insurance is going to become unaffordable here.

Has it only been 14 days since the hurricane 🌀 hit Florida? It feels like 2 months since then. Time feels really strange and weird.

You don’t build houses on barrier islands! A barrier island breaks the wind before heading to shore! I was happy to hear they are leaving. I’m in Nokomis I’ve been here 25 years 7 hurricanes and this is my last rodeo. I love it here but I can’t keep fixing a home it gets expensive. Wind insurance is a farce they have so many stipulations and excuses for not covering damage. Thank god mine was minimal but it was still in the thousands. I’m just too old for this plus I used to spend time in the Gulf and that’s polluted with runoffs you can’t go in. Flipper is Dead and Florida just isn’t like the good ole days! Not worth it! What came first the chicken or the egg? See did the wind or the water comes first you can bet he’ll say whatever it takes to disqualify you. I’ve been paying wind coverage for 25 years thats a lot of money and I never qualified for one claim. Wind insurance is the biggest rip off in this state nobody qualifies! You just have to be thankful you can fix it and not even haggle with a losing situation! If you have insurance your automatically disqualified for FEMA you can’t win.

Thank you, sir. I don't live there, but what a thoughtful thing you did. God bless you.

These people are one of the lucky ones. They still had a house standing and plenty of items inside to salvage.

Thank you 60 minutes for coming down. People outside of our area have no idea to the extent of destruction we received from this storm.

I lived a mile from the Sanibel Bridge. It was the best area to live. We lost everything to flood damage from the surge. My heart is broken, I loved my home and loved piece of paradise

440 acres to supply solar power to 5,000 people in Babcock Ranch. That's over 3,833 sq.ft. per person.

I rode the storm out in my car. I was only about 6 or 7 miles south of where it impacted. The way the storm raged, the sound of the transformers blowing up .. The wind was shaking the car, It was as if I was parked right next to a freight train depot. Then all reception had been lost. It was truly the loneliest I had felt. I had no connection to anyone. If I had gotten hurt , I was gunna be up shitz creek. Even though it's been 2 weeks & the majority of us already have power restored , Things are still weird around here in Ft.Myers. it's going to take us awhile to get back to somewhat normal. A big shout out to all of FP&L , LCEC & the power companies from other states. Gotta show some love for the tree guys too not to mention the establishments that have stepped up to provide food & supplies. As for my fellow brethrens & sisters of Ft.Myers, Stay strong & keep forging ahead. We have us a summit to scale but we are in it together!

The insurance guy basically just let the cat out of the bag that insurances are going to avoid paying by arguing whether flood or wind damage are the chicken and the egg instead of giving, even the people who could afford it, what they payed for

Babcock ranch is high up because they raised the level. They dug out the ponds and cleared out the preserve and wetland. It also helped that they are 25 miles inland.

I was born & raised in Fort Myers. I lived on Sanibel back in the 90's. I live in Manatee county now. I have friends who lived on Sanibel who lost everything. They were ordinary, middle class people. A lot of people on Sanibel were. It wasn't a playground for the super rich like Monaco. Sure there were wealthy people with winter getaways on Sanibel, but the year round residents, that was all they had. In the backs of every Floridian's mind is the knowledge a hurricane like Ian could destroy everything you have. It's the same for , floods, Tornados, Earthquakes, wildfires, nor’easters or any other potential catastrophe. One has to learn to live with dread as part of life. There's no Edens on earth, just mirages we convince ourselves to be.

Thank you for providing pictures of the islands. My husband and I discovered the island in 1983 on our 20th anniversary. We returned each year in January for the next 31 years. Celebrated our 50th at the Sanibel Inn. Through the years we have watched so many buildings being built. Appreciated the lack of any building above 4 stories. We always rented at Loggerhead Cay.

Living in North Florida we were spared this destruction it’s probably one of them most sad heartwarming and crazy stories of hurricane Ian Blessings of healing and serenity for those people

I live in fort myers and there are literally metal signs with 9" thick metal posts and the metal posts are bent at a near 45 degree angle from the severe winds. Shows you how powerful the winds were!

Kudos to the dude that took all those pictures with the drone and with his phone. He is a silent hero. The dude at the Ranch he is a visionary, he should be used to give tips to rebuild Sanibel Island. To me, all those houses should be rebuilt with a strong building code, to withstand more than a 160 mph wind and to be storm surge proof.

My heart goes out to this community, I often, and several times a year, go to this area on long weekends to "get away". In fact, I was riding my e-scooter down every street along Ft. Myers Beach just 3 weeks before Ian hit checking out the houses. That being said....I live about 5 minutes inland from the east coast of Florida and those of us who have decided to live this close to the beaches SHOULD KNOW that it is only a matter of time (even more so now since these storms are more frequent and stronger as of late) that this will happen. WE HAVE to keep in mind that we could lose everything in any given summer. If you can't accept that, move....In recent years, we have had an influx of northerners moving here permanently without considering the consequences. Well, hopefully, they see it now. I have flood insurance and for those who didn't, well, that was a choice. You have a several 6 figure home on the beach and "can't afford" flood insurance....sorry.

No air conditioning. Oh my goodness. Welcome to reality! Rich people have no idea what the rest of us are going through.