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Tens of thousands of federal flood insurance policy holders in Cape Coral, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Springs, Estero and unincorporated Lee County will continue to get steep discounts on its premiums, government leaders announced Friday.
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The FEMA decision will impact a majority of federal flood insurance policy holders in Lee County.
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Lee County as a whole had its property values raise 6 percent over last year. For Fort Myers Beach it was 48 percent.
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Destroyed by Hurricane Ian almost two years ago, the popular Fort Myers Beach pier will be rebuilt, but this time as a wider, longer, costlier — and more sturdy — attraction.The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to direct staff to rebuild the pier to 1,000-feet-long and 12-feet-wide — nearly twice the original 585-foot length longer and 50% wider than the 8-foot-wide pier destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
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Nobody has heard the pig frog grunt on Sanibel Island since Hurricane Ian.
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There are a number of factors at play when it comes to predicting how active a hurricane season will be, the most important being the surface water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Back in April and May temperatures in the region of the Atlantic where storms tend to develop were already what we would expect to see in early summer — and now in June temperatures are already at levels we would expect in August, which is when hurricane season peaks. We have a conversation about the 2024 season, and the various factors contribute to how active it will be, with Megan Borowski from the Florida Public Radio Network.
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A nonprofit group that shepherded rebuilding in Harlem Heights after Hurricane Ian inundated the south Fort Myers neighborhood in 2022 recently declared: Mission Accomplished.Adventures in Missions helped residents of 258 homes and partnered to rebuild 176 homes along with hosting more than 5,000 volunteers to support hurricane recovery, said Chris and Sarah Horvath, disaster relief leadership for the interdenominational organization.
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The number of pelicans and other shorebirds with hooks in their pouches or stomachs, or fishing line wrapped tight around their legs or beaks dropped by 58 percent across the region after Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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Bruises continue to be inflicted on Florida’s citrus industry, as the forecast for the nearly concluded growing season dropped further Friday.The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an updated production forecast that was 5.6 percent below projections released in April. Meanwhile, a decades-old citrus association shut its doors this week, and a major grower told investors its groves might need at least one more season to recover from 2022’s Hurricane Ian.
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A property-insurance company has agreed to pay a $1 million fine after a state review found it violated claims-handling requirements following Hurricane Ian, according to an order signed Thursday by Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky.The order and a report issued in March said Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. violated state insurance laws, including by not promptly acknowledging that it received communications about claims, not paying or denying claims within a 90-day timeframe and not maintaining complete claims records.