Hurricane Ian destroyed several portions of the Causeway Sanibel, which is a series of bridges that connects the island of Sanibel to the mainland of Florida, where a storm made landfall in the south and is home to approximately 6,500 people.
Authorities have described the magnitude of the damage as exceeding basic repairs.
The bridges that connect to Pine Island and the Sanibel Causeway, as confirmed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Thursday morning briefing, are inaccessible and will necessitate structural reconstructions.
On Friday, he stated that the causeway spanning three miles “experienced fractures in various sections.”
During a briefing on Friday morning, he mentioned, “The structures endured remarkably, except for the area near the water and the pylons.” “The erosion occurred beneath the structures that were situated on the sandbar.”
On Sanibel Island, two injuries and 12 fatalities had already been confirmed by authorities, while approximately 200 households had chosen to remain despite the storm. Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith stated on Thursday that not all individuals had evacuated prior to the storm’s arrival, despite the evacuation order issued by Lee County.
It appears that other residents on the island are effectively stranded because they declined offers to evacuate, as they were unaccounted for and not rescued by the rescue crews.
The ongoing rescue efforts conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement teams have successfully brought an unspecified number of people safely off the island, according to DeSantis. The Coast Guard has shared photos of crews airlifting people from the flooded parts of the island.
On Friday, DeSantis stated that initially, officials had been traveling with less weight and by air, but now they are employing barges to transport supplies and heavier machinery to the island.
Smith requested a service barge for short-term recovery, as well as long-term island access due to the causeway condition.
Urging residents to provide authorities with the addresses and names of their loved ones who may have remained stranded on the island, Smith is saying that the first priority is to ensure their safety and account for any missing people.
According to an update provided by the Lee County Electric Cooperative at 11 a.M. ET on Friday morning, there were no electricity users with power on Sanibel Island.
Jarring images of the broken causeway circulated fast
WPLG and WBBH affiliates CNN reported that sections of the causeway were washed away by the surge caused by the storm, cutting off at least three sections of the Captiva and Sanibel islands from the rest of the state.
The causeway was reported to have been damaged in the early hours of Thursday morning by local journalists who shared photos of the missing pieces of the bridge.
On the website of The Times, journalist Zachary Sampson and photographer Douglas Clifford from Tampa Bay Times shared firsthand experiences and assessed the extent of the destruction after exploring beyond their accommodation in Fort Myers during the early hours of Thursday.
At 2 a.M. ET, they conveyed that the stretch of road preceding the Sanibel Causeway was impassable.
“According to them, the road is crumpled like an accordion, torn to shreds by a strong storm surge. Adjacent to a white truck, a helical staircase was left in the vegetation close by. Additionally, the tempest hurled a boat trailer and various wreckage.”
According to their account, the group mentioned that the area was crowded with young males attempting to locate a companion. They explained witnessing layers of sand scattered on the road and observing two vehicles making unsuccessful attempts to enter the island around 1:30 a.M.
At 4:15 a.M., The reporters verified that a portion of the bridge had been destroyed by the storm.
The remaining part of the bridge extends ahead, out of reach. Crumbled asphalt is scattered close to the shoreline. At the point where the bridge ascends from the mainland towards the island, one of the initial segments of the structure has vanished. Take a step just past it, and the road quickly deteriorates. A continuous alarm sounds at the tollbooth for the Sanibel Causeway.