The damage on Captiva Island is horrible. The island has literally been cut in two as part of it has washed away. The nation has lost a good part of one of its most beautiful and popular destinations.
I saw that on the news...just horrible.
I have been to Sanibel twice.
It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen...if not the most beautiful.
Man I hope the island is at least intact and the beaches are okay (at least on Captiva, they say the beaches are virtually gone in many places due to the storm, so it will take time for them to come back to their former glory).
One thing is for sure, it will take a long time to get all the trees back, fix the buildings, and get the sand off the roads, grass, everything.
They said the last time a hurricane really hit the Sanibel area with almost total devastation (in the 1800's....) they could not grow crops there for a very long time due to the salt (not sure what crops they would grow on that small island, but oh well).
I did not see Captiva when we visited Sanibel....but saw the pictures on the tv. Just awful.