'Love will rebuild our island': Sanibel commemorates 1 year since Ian's crushing blow
Sanibel had much to celebrate Thursday: the smooth flow of early-morning traffic rising and dipping over its intact causeway, its still-standing lighthouse pulsing over calm Gulf waters, the crowd pressed shoulder to shoulder under dark morning sky.
Before dawn, islanders, island leaders and island-lovers had gathered on the beach to mark the year they’ve had since Hurricane Ian’s siege on Sept.. 28, 2022. They stood together on the sand in front of Sanibel’s lighthouse minus its two historic buildings, swept away by surge.
When the storm reached Lee County at 3:05 p.m., it was the fifth-strongest ever recorded in the U.S. Just shy of a Category 5, its backside winds were as strong as its leading edge. But worse than its wind was its water. Ian swamped Sanibel and its sister barrier islands: San Carlos, Estero and Pine Island with up to 18 feet of storm surge.
Random tornadoes spawned as rain fell torrentially, at one-in-1,000-year levels of more than 20 inches in places, adding to the shoved-in seas and breaking Sanibel’s causeway in three places. Yet just as the storm itself was unprecedented, so was the aid that followed. The causeway reopened in 16 days as helpers poured in from around the nation.
The sunrise remembrance was one of several commemorative events planned over the next few days, a way for the community to reflect, mourn and celebrate what the storm has shown them.
Drone video: Flying over Sanibel Island one year after Hurricane Ian provides dramatic views
'A testament to the love that defines Sanibel'
To the hundred or so gathered, many spoke who'd helped the island in the aftermath and beyond: Mayor Richard Johnson, former Mayor and current City Councilwoman Holly Smith, City Manager Dana Souza and more.
Other speakers included Lee Superintendent of Schools Christopher Bernier and Sanibel Fire Chie Kevin Barbot, who recalled the adrenaline-fueled early weeks, with 20-hour workdays and battle-forged camaraderie. He applauded the island's dedication, resilience and a spirit he called “nothing short of miraculous – a spirit that reaches around the world: “The support for our community has come from all corners of the globe, a testament to the love that defines Sanibel. It is this love that will rebuild our island.”
Calling for a moment of silence, Bernier reminded the crowd it was a solemn day as well: “We remember and we honor those who lost their lives … Let hurricane Ian be a symbol of our enduring spirit and may our community continue to shine as the lighthouse behind us."
After he quoted Martin Luther King Jr. about rising to the occasion despite adversity, Souza acknowledged the myriad post-storm helpers, including Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Lai and the city's employees, who he asked step forward, which they did to sustained applause.
Mayor Johnson urged continued unity. “I promise you,” he told the crowd, “We are going to get through this. And the way we are going to do that is by working together. If we fracture, if we split off from each other, we will still recover but it will take longer (and) there will be much more heartache,” he said. “So do as you have done in the last 365 days: Stand together, look out to your neighbor, and let’s get through this and let’s get it done.”
More: Where's the mail? Where's the aid? Sanibel's recovery marathon grinds on
Other speakers were Florida Rep. Adam Botana; Kevin Guthrie, Florida's executive director of the Department of Emergency Management and Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane,
After the last cheers, the crowd dispersed. Some, like Nancy Larkin and Janet Sheehan, embraced a moment on the sand. Both "Sanibel people," as Larkin calls them, both northerners (Larkin from New York and Sheehan from Massachusetts) with a deep love of the island, both with homes there devastated by the storm. Yet neither is giving up, say the women, who've been friends since they were 7 years old.
"Sanibel has been a huge part of our life," Larkin said. "We bought here before we had a home there … when we were 20-somethings. People, including our parents, said, 'What are those kids doing?'" she said, "But this place was so special ... this is where we'll be," she said. "I have already picked the lighthouse picture that will go over the sofa in the place when we re-do it."...
Following the event, birder Vince McGrath stalked the shell path between blasted stands of mangroves, listening to the palm warblers. Next month, he's planning a hawk-watching event for Audubon, something he's done annually for 20 years. "We get peregrines, merlins, sharpies (sharp-shinned hawks) ... If the front activity is right, we could have a couple hundred hawks." Then McGrath, ever the finder of splendid things, stops. He points up the path. "Hey, he says, "There's a rainbow forming right on that storm cloud."
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Sanibel Island celebrates how far it's come since Hurricane Ian struck
