Four years before Hurricane Ian wiped out parts of southwest Florida, Hurricane Michael devastated parts of the state’s Panhandle. Now the two areas are collaborating as south Florida residents wonder what their area will look like in a few years.
Recovery will be more complicated in southwest Florida than it was in the Panhandle because of population, Cathey said.
The flooded-out mobile home park where Ford lives — one of hundreds of such communities in the region — would be better off as an RV park where people can come and go than as a permanent neighborhood, he said. Residents might be ripe for a buyout or conversion after Ian, particularly since he and others had to repair damage after Hurricane Irma in 2017.
His beachfront business, the Driftwood Inn, was blown apart and filled with ocean water when Michael made landfall with sustained winds of 160 mph on Oct. 10, 2018. Initially, he said, the only logical step seemed to be giving up.But the storm passed and the Gulf still beckoned, Wood said, so he decided to rebuild. The new Driftwood Inn reopened in June with 24 rooms at its original location after a $13 million outlay and a lot headaches from insurance, government regulations and contractors.
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