Hurricane Ian

As new buildings go up along the flood-prone Gulf coast at 15 to 20 feet off the ground, the future of Florida's infrastructure "looks high."

A meeting Wednesday morning delved into the status of storm-ravaged Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. WGCU’s Cary Barbor was there.

The Causeway Islands Park opened Thursday morning on the Sanibel Causeway with its first phase of amenities, the first time that visitors were able to enjoy the shoreline since the devastation of Hurricane Ian in September 2022.The park had been closed due to the essential rebuilding activities by the Florida Department of Transportation, which used the site during the critical process of rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway to make it more resilient.

WGCU’s “Untold Stories: Sanibel Island’s Store” is an official selection of the Fort Myers Film Festival. The festival, in its 15th year takes place May 14-18 at various local venues.

FEMA will remove Fort Myers Beach off probation status under the National Flood Insurance Program after the town met program requirements.The notice, issued Monday, will be effective November 18, 2025.

The concrete pour for the Little Pine Island Bridge is now tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 28, at 2 a.m. When work resumes, crews will pour more then 300 yards of concrete for the deck slab, requiring approximately five hours to complete.

Sanibel hired an engineering firm to inspect, repair and make upgrades to storm water system. Community input is vital.

The Lee Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday received an update on the progress of building the new, larger and more resilient Fort Myers Beach Pier that accelerates the planned completion of the project.The estimated completion date of the pier is now in August 2027, ahead of the previous planned completion in summer 2028.

The City of Fort Myers will build two new water wells, using nearly $15 million that was awarded to the city last September. The money is part of a $1.1 billion grant from the federal Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recover (CDBG-DR). The money was allocated following Hurricane Ian to help Lee County with long-term recovery.

The human services organization FISH of SANCAP will participate in Elevate Florida, a new statewide residential mitigation program designed to help homeowners strengthen their properties against future hurricanes and floods. The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management (FDEM) announced the launch of Elevate Florida on Feb. 7.