Posted on 08/18/2004 10:58:59 AM PDT by ItsTheMediaStupid
PUNTA RASSA, Florida (CNN) -- Florida authorities reopened Sanibel Island early Wednesday, for the first time since August 12, when it was evacuated in advance of Hurricane Charley.
Inspectors on the 12-mile barrier island declared 46 properties "seriously damaged" and "unsafe" and another 78 "damaged" with "questionable" safety.
But Mayor Marty Harrity said he didn't think any property on the island was "completely destroyed."
"There's some pretty heavy damage on the beach front," Harrity said, "but over the years we've had some pretty stringent building codes, and I think we really weathered this thing."
"A little over a hundred hours ago you couldn't walk on Sanibel because of all the debris," he added, "and now we're going back."
Captiva Island, another vacation haven across Blind Pass bridge from Sanibel, remained closed Wednesday with no official estimate on when it would reopen.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
captiva is even narrower, i think, and more fragile.
I've vacationed there and it's really a lovely place. My daughter is worried about the manatees that lived in the harbor there at the plantation. Hope the damage doesn't turn out to be that bad.
The island has high density population with only one access road. Lots of debris. Authorities were trying to avoid people going back too soon and getting killed or injured on debris, wires etc. No government cover-ups/conspiracy.
Its a small city government with little manpower. All road debris clean-up had to be done using contracted labor and I believe the fire cheif helped with the building inspections.
During hurricane Andrew, almost no Mobile home's were left standing. The houses looked like the Mobile homes in Charley. Yet they cleared the roads in a couple of days, not only that but the main thoroughfares were cleared in a day, they let most people in after that. The county has no obligation beyond that, and to make sure power and gas are turned off. Now they are requiring residents to get tetanus shots. Wonder if they have to show proof? They won't let non certified contractors in, despite the fact that temporary and non structural repairs do not require certification. In other words a complete nanny state.
During hurricane Andrew, almost no mobile home's were left standing. The houses looked like the mobile homes in Charley. Yet they cleared the roads in a couple of days, not only that but the main thoroughfares were cleared in a day, they let most people in after that. The county has no obligation beyond that, and to make sure power and gas are turned off. Now they are requiring residents to get tetanus shots. Wonder if they have to show proof? They won't let non certified contractors in, despite the fact that temporary and non structural repairs do not require certification. In other words a complete nanny state.
Using earth movers to clear tons of sand off the roadways. Using chain saws to clear debris so the earh movers could clear the sand. Clearing downed wires so that the crews with chain saws could clear the debris so that the earth movers could get in to clear the sand. Checking the bridges and causeways to see if they were safe so that they could be used by the crews who needed to clear the wires so .....
And what could you get done in 4 days?
During summer (when the water is warm) manatees spread out all over the Gulf of Mexico. So hopefully they got out of the harbor before Charley hit.
One of the rules that they had put in place is that in this type of a disaster, the islands would be closed to all until they could be declared 100% safe by the local gov. This rule was abided by, and that is why Captiva is not yet open.
There is only one 2-lane road in and out of the island, so the rule makes sense...particuarly when there is this much infrastructure damage. And, most importantly, a vast majority of residents support this rule, understand why they agreed to this rule, and are very pleased with the way things have been handled.
Just as I expected! The Nazi's are inspecting for drugs and guns.
Who is requiring who to get shots? And these islands pride themselves on a strict building code. Why would they let non-certified builders rebuild the structures?
During hurricane Andrew, I had the house covered with tarp, recovered many of the electronics. Put the refridgerator and many other things in the garage, the only room that didn't leak. Much else was done but not finished in that time.
There is no call for them to do more than cut the power and gas, and clear the main roads. That doesn't take 5 days. Utter BS.
You don't need to be certified to put up tarp and plywood to protect the home from further damage. You are slowing the process down by asking them to check in. Only need to verify this when the building permit is applied for.
More BS. Most residents didn't know about this rule, they were picketing and almost to the point of riot. One man was tasered for arguing with a cop!
I've been to Sanibel several times, and this is most welcome news. I was fearing the worst. No buildings being totally destroyed is a blessing.
I've vacationed there and it's really a lovely place.
Homeowners can do this work w/o certification.
A contemporary report following Andrew:
"At the time of this special report, thousands of individuals and families remain homeless, with no prospects for returning home within weeks; "
http://www.drj.com/special/andrew.html
And from a recovery team:
Unless you could prove you had a hotel reservation, a security pass or an emergency contractor permit, it was almost impossible to get through security check points.
http://www.drj.com/special/andrew.html
You are talking about Fort Myers Beach, Not Sanibel and Captiva.
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