Storm-Scarred but Unbroken: A Hurricane-Devastated Community Pushes Forward

By: Wrigley Kordt | UMTV Reporter

Take a morning stroll along the sugar-white sands of the town of Fort Myers Beach and it is easy to believe this narrow barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast is untouched by tragedy. The Gulf breeze still carries the scent of salt and sunscreen. Waves lap gently along the shoreline. Tourists photograph pastel sunsets.

But just a few blocks inland, the scars remain.

Empty lots interrupt once-vibrant streets. Elevated homes stand beside cleared foundations. Construction equipment hums where longtime restaurants once anchored family celebrations.

More than three and a half years after Hurricane Ian devastated Florida’s west coast, Fort Myers Beach is still rebuilding – physically, economically and emotionally.

Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, 2022, near Cayo Costa as a powerful Category 4 storm, bringing catastrophic storm surge, hurricane-force winds and widespread flooding across Southwest Florida. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ian killed more than 160 people, including 150 in Florida, and caused an estimated $109 billion in damage, making it the costliest storm in Florida history and the third-costliest weather disaster ever recorded worldwide.

On Fort Myers Beach alone, nearly 1,000 structures were destroyed and more than 2,200 others were damaged. Entire blocks were wiped clean by storm surge that officials estimated at 12 to 18 feet in some areas.

“This place was just wiped off the face of the earth,” said Scott Safford, vice mayor of Fort Myers Beach. “If you were here day one, it looked like a bomb went off. People were just walking around like zombies. It was just crazy, and I never want to do that again.”

Safford and his wife, Jacki Liszak, have built their lives on the island. When Ian hit, they lost both their home and their business, along with the places where they had celebrated birthdays, holidays and milestones.

“Everything we’d known all our lives was gone,” said Liszak, president and CEO of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Places we’d spent birthdays and family time – bars, restaurants, hotels. It didn’t matter. Stuff was gone.”

In the days immediately after the storm, Liszak remembers climbing over mounds of debris just to see if their house was still standing.

“When we saw that we had a house left, the first thing I started doing was pulling stuff to stack it in the front yard,” she said. “Just start to clean up.”

At that moment, personal recovery and community recovery became inseparable.

Safford, who had served on the town council, was elected vice mayor in November 2022. Liszak doubled down on her role supporting local businesses through the Chamber of Commerce – advocating for disaster aid, FEMA reimbursements, and small-business assistance.

Fort Myers Beach faced immense structural challenges beyond physical damage. New FEMA flood regulations, rising insurance costs, and updated building codes slowed rebuilding timelines. Properties in high-risk flood zones must now be elevated significantly higher than before Ian. It’s a costly but necessary step in mitigating future storm damage.

Despite the hurdles, progress is visible. According to town officials and the Chamber, more than half of the island’s pre-Ian businesses have now returned or reopened in some form. Construction cranes dot the skyline, signaling new condominiums, raised single-family homes and reimagined commercial spaces.

For Mike and Dawn Miller, rebuilding required patience and faith.

The couple had vacationed on Fort Myers Beach for more than 25 years before moving to the island permanently in 2018. Just three months before Hurricane Ian, they purchased The Whale, a well-known restaurant near Times Square.

Then the storm hit.

“Day after the hurricane, it was just detrimental,” Mike Miller recalled. “You just want to go on your knees and cry because you don’t even know where to start.”

For nearly three years, their investment sat idle as they navigated insurance claims, permitting delays, and construction setbacks.

“In hindsight, if we knew it was going to take three years to rebuild and our money was just sitting there doing nothing, it would’ve been tough for me,” Miller admitted. “Would I do it again? Yes.”

The Whale finally reopened in November 2025. It’s a milestone that represented more than just a business relaunch.

“It was easy because I had fallen in love,” Dawn Miller said. “I saw that we could help improve our community by being that driving force.”

In fact, as more than 100 businesses left the island after the storm, the Millers invested further by purchasing additional land to demonstrate their commitment to the future of Fort Myers Beach.

“People thank us every day,” Mike Miller said. “They say, ‘You’re kickstarting this entire island and getting it back up and running.’”

Rebuilding has not simply been about restoration; it has been about reinvention.

Empty lots are planned for new restaurants, mixed-use developments, and elevated condominiums designed to withstand future storms. Updated zoning discussions and infrastructure investments aim to make the island more resilient.

“People are looking around going, ‘Wow, that empty lot’s going to be what?’” Safford said. “You tell them it’s going to be a new restaurant, or a condo. They say, ‘This place is going to be awesome in the next three or four or five years.’ That gives us hope.”

The town is also investing in infrastructure repairs, including beach renourishment projects completed with assistance from state and federal funds. Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida’s emergency management agencies allocated billions in recovery assistance statewide following the storm, part of broader disaster relief efforts across Lee County.

The island’s tourism engine, which is critical to its economy, is gradually returning. According to Visit Florida data and Lee County tourism reports, Southwest Florida is seeing a steady rebound in visitor numbers, though some hotel inventory remains below pre-storm capacity due to rebuilding timelines.

For Liszak and Safford, resilience is not a slogan, it’s personal.

“We fight passionately for our island,” Liszak said. “We’re building back our businesses, we’re building back our community. I’m personally building back my home. I’m committed to the island and to the people here.”

That commitment is visible in neighborhood volunteer cleanup efforts, business ribbon cuttings, and community meetings planning the island’s future.

“When I come home, it’s home,” Liszak said. “It feels like home. It is home. I never for a second thought we should go somewhere else.”

Safford agrees.

“I’m all in,” he said. “I want this island to succeed. I want this island to go into the future being a better place than it was before the hurricane.”

Hurricane Ian’s damage can still be seen in vacant parcels and construction zones – reminders of a storm that changed Fort Myers Beach forever.

But amid the rebuilding noise, something else is rising. Purpose. Investment. Determination.

On an island shaped by wind and water, resilience may be its strongest foundation of all.

Fort Myers Beach has been battered before.

And as its residents make clear – it will stand again.