Sanibel residents recovering from Helene two years after Ian

Due to Helene, The City of Sanibel has postponed a two-year Ian celebration and turned it into a cleanup.

The Island Store on Sanibel is one of the many places affected by Helene, and residents met there to help each other.

People in the area still have the emotional scars of Hurricane Ian.

For Sanibel and Captiva, it’s like deja vu.

Bob Miller is a Sanibel resident and volunteer. He said that Helene gave him memories of Hurricane Ian.

“It’s a little bit of PTSD,” said Miller. “The night when Helene hit, we all of a sudden saw water coming in the ground floor. It was a little unnerving, I’ll say, to see that happening again.”

This week, thousands of homes and businesses were affected by Helene. Residents and volunteers are no strangers to the damage these storms cause.

Nathalie White is the Co-founder of Rebuild SWFL. She said that during Helene, she received calls from people who called during Hurricane Ian.

“A lot of the homes that were calling us were people that we helped during Hurricane Ian,” said White. “One of the gentlemen that called, he had just gotten into his house two weeks ago after Hurricane Ian, to now find out that it’s flooded. It’s just really devastating. It’s a real setback emotionally.”

Although many are painfully reliving the memories of Hurricane Ian, many organizations came together at the Community House in Sanibel to help people get back on their feet.

Holly Smith is a councilwoman for Sanibel. She said the people of Sanibel are resilient.

“The strength of our community. It’s not our buildings, it’s not our homes, it’s not the brick and mortar, it’s the people that live here,” said Smith. “And that’s what makes Sanibel so special, and it makes Sanibel so loved around the world.”

Mayor Richard Johnson said he hopes to get back to normal.

“We will continue to work throughout the community and get folks back on their feet, getting people back into their homes,” said Johnson. “Our building and planning department are on top of the things. We’re facilitating that to make it as easy as possible. If anyone has any questions, I urge them to reach out to Building and Planning.”

There’s still a lot of work to be done but volunteers are focused on rebuilding, one step at a time.