ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Ahmed Nawaz looks through the damage to his store after Hurricane Laura passed through Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage Hurricane Laura is one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US Gulf Coast, but its path avoided major cities such as Houston and New Orleans, causing less damage — to people and their towns — than initially feared. An early estimate from CoreLogic is that insured losses from the storm, which has killed six people, will be between $8 billion and $12 billion. Almost all those costs will come in Louisiana, with insured losses in Texas coming to less than $500 million, according to the estimate. Another estimate from Moody’s Analytics is that the total economic cost, including damaged structures and businesses temporarily closed during the storm, will be in the neighborhood of $20 billion. Laura’s ferocious winds tore off roofs and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands. But the damage is far less severe than some recent storms that hit more populated areas. Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that is the most costly in US history, caused $57 billion in insured losses, including flood insurance claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute, and $140 billion in total economic damage, according to Moody’s. Hurricane Harvey, which hit Houston with massive floods in 2017, caused between $27 billion and $29 billion in insured damages, according to the institute, and $134 billion in total economic damage, according to Moody’s. And Hurricane Maria caused between $25 billion and $30 billion in insured damage and $120 billion in economic damage, also in 2017, said the III and Moody’s. “Laura’s going to be devasting to the places it hit, such as the city of Lake Charles [Louisiana],” said Tom Sabbatelli-Goodyer, senior manager of modeling at RMS, which does estimates for the insurance industry on the costs of natural disasters. “But it threaded the needle between New Orleans and Houston, so the worst-case scenario in terms of economic loss has not been realized.” The area along the state line where Laura hit and moved north is very rural compared with the more populated areas around Houston and New Orleans hit by other major storms in recent years. It could take longer for some of the businesses and homeowners sustaining damage to recover from the economic damage because of the current economic conditions, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. While insurance payouts might cover most of the losses for many, homeowners who are out of work or businesses with reduced revenue may not be able to cover the cost of insurance deductibles and start repairs. And there are many who will discover that some losses are not covered by insurance at all. A traditional homeowner’s policy will not cover the cost of flood damage. That is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program, which is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But in the four counties in Texas most directly hit by the storm, only about a third of homes have flood insurance. And in the Louisiana 10 parishes most directly affected by the storm, only about 20% of homes are covered. Some homes might not be covered because they are on higher ground and therefore at less risk. But many homes will be hit with water from rain or storm surges, which are not covered, said Tom Larsen, principal of insurance solutions at CoreLogic. “What we’ve seen in the past in Harvey and other severe storms, only about 30% to 40% of homes that have flood damage have flood insurance,” he said.