The destruction in Florida in the wake of Ian is staggering: more than 100 deaths, most by drowning; communities in tatters; the price tag for recovery estimated at more than $100 billion. We went to ground zero where Ian first roared ashore.
6,500 people live on Sanibel. The place the sprechers described as a tropical paradise now is a debris field. Cars tossed like toys by the storm surge, it stripped the asphalt off their road.As they approached the house, the scene was surreal - a beautiful Florida day, the kind that drew John and Milissa here from Wisconsin years ago, while the home and life they built lay battered under the sun.They had held pool parties in the yard, celebrated birthdays and graduations in these rooms.
Chapman says he fears Ian will only exacerbate a persistent problem in Florida's insurance market. Eighty percent of all homeowners' insurance lawsuits in the country are filed here. Most big insurers have scaled way back, small insurers are being squeezed. Six went out of business just this year.Brian Chapman: Double-digit, triple-digit rate increases in the last 24 months.
Bobby Quinn: There was no place to go. There were trees flying by when I was sitting in the truck and wind that would have flipped my truck if I had moved out from behind that wall. I tried at one point and the wheels came off the ground. Bobby Quinn: This is Rotonda West. This is the neighborhood. And the pink dots that you see are each individual image that was taken in the neighborhood.
Quinn's efforts didn't go unnoticed, he told us he's been contacted by an insurance company and Florida's emergency operations center, seeking his data.Bobby Quinn: If you've ever felt hopelessness or despair or the anxiety that comes with the unknown, you know it's a terrible feeling. We know that we can use technology in a way that really hasn't been used before to get to the right audience, to get to the loved ones and family members.
Babcock Ranch was designed to accommodate Florida's ecosystem with indigenous plants and natural waterways for drainage; it was built 25 to 30 feet above sea level to avoid storm surges. All electric and phone lines are buried.
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