Joe Dalton on vacation from Cleveland, Ohio checks out beached boats at Fort Myers Wharf on the Caloosahatchee River Thursday Sept. 29 one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
2 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Residents and business owners cross the bridge to Fort Myers Beach Thursday Sept. 29, one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County. The island is not open to the general public
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
3 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
A woman walks in front of a giant fallen live oak tree Thursday, one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
4 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Owner Robert Leisure walks into what used to be the gift shop of the Getaway Marina on Fort Myers Beach on Thursday Sept. 29, one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
5 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Jonathan Strong of Cape Coral dives into flood waters while he and his girlfriend Kylie Dodd, also of Cape Coral knock on door in a flooded mobile home park community in Iona on Thursday, Sept. 29, one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
6 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Sammie Clark,11, and Nevaeh Curran, 11 of Fort Myers Beach explore a flooded mobile home community in Iona on Thursday Sept. 29 one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
7 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
A couple carries their belongings out of a flooded mobile home community in Iona Thursday, Sept. 29 one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
8 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
What was once buildings and boats is now a tangled mess at San Carlos Boulevard and Main Street on San Carlos Island on Thursday Sept. 29 one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County. The community is at the base of the bridge to Fort Myers Beach.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
9 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
What used to be the office and gift shop of the Getaway Marina is reflected in owner Robert Leisure glasses in Fort Meyers Beach, on Thursday, Sept. 29. Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane on the Southwest coast of Florida.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
10 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Jonathan Strong of Cape Coral hugs Maida Dominguez after bringing her to dry land in a flooded mobile home community in Iona. Strong said he came to help out because "I can't just sit around while my house is intact and let other people suffer. It's what we do, community helping community."
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
11 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Boats rest just off the roadway at the Port Sanibel Marina on Thursday Sept. 29, one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
12 of 12 — Hurricane Ian aftermath
Dave Loesser who lives in the Johnathan Harbor community talks on the phone next to a boat that has landed on top of pilings on the dock at Port Sanibel Marina on Thursday Sept. 29 one day after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
South Florida Sun Sentinel photojournalist Amy Beth Bennett snapped these shots in areas around Lee County affected by Hurricane Ian.
Between New Year’s weekend and April’s end, Southwest Florida is the scene of more than 40 outdoor art fairs and festivals. Some are boutique shows that feature just a few dozen artists. Others boast more than 200 exhibitors, with ArtFest Fort Myers attracting an estimated 90,000 visitors and the Cape Coral Art Festival topping out at 140,000 attendees. Here you'll find the names, dates and organizers of each of these outdoor art shows.
Omer Shem Tov was one of 44 people taken hostage by Hamas at the nova music festival. Omer soon found himself the sole person being held by his captors, a position he would be in for 505 days.
BIG ARTS is built to last. The building weathered Hurricanes Ian, Helene and Milton largely unscathed. The outdoor sculpture garden wasn’t as lucky. But it has now been restored and Gallery Director Wilson McCray hopes people will check out the improvements this season and is busy preparing a map that will facilitate self-guided walking tours.
Attorneys for detainees at a Florida immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" want a federal judge to visit the facility. They argue this will help determine if detainees have sufficient access to legal counsel. On Friday, they asked U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell to make the visit within two months. The facility, built this summer, requires attorneys to schedule visits three days in advance. State attorneys object, citing security risks and operational disruptions. As of Monday, the judge hadn't ruled on the request. This case is one of three federal lawsuits challenging practices at the detention center.