With more than 100 fatalities, Ian was the third-deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland this century behind Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.
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.
A neighbor of Ford's, Chuck Wagner, said some people already are getting frustrated after Ian. Many southwest Florida residents are retirees who only live in the area half the year, spending the hot summers in the north, and they're hearing that aid might not be available to part-time residents.Progress is measured in incremental steps. Over the weekend, officials announced that power had been restored to the first few homes on Fort Myers Beach, one of the hardest hit places.
Mexico Beach still desperately needs a grocery store to avoid the more than 10-mile drive to the nearest one, he said, and a pharmacy and more restaurants would be good. But looking back, Wood said, he believes he made the right decision to rebuild and hopes people in Fort Myers Beach do the same.
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