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Hurricane Ian has long since passed, but it can still deliver lasting blows to the native economic system, destroying small agencies heavily dependent on travelers and seasonal residents.
Scenes of destruction in southwest Florida will keep many winter travelers and snowbirds away, while locals take charge of rebuilding for months or more, said Michael Maguire, supervisor of several family-owned restaurants, including a couple in the defiant, battered waterfront stronghold of Myers.
“"Even before the storm, there were matching financial signs for Fort Myers and the Lee County recreation area."”
“It shouldn’t be the same,” observed Maguire, outside the Pinchers seafood restaurant in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of Myers Castle. “It could be months, it could be years. We don’t understand. Americans who live in the area won’t be suited to going to restaurants.”
Context: Biden says Florida will take 'years,' not weeks or months, to rebuild from Hurricane Ian.
See also: Biden administration pledges significant aid to Typhoon Ian victims, while rescues continue in Florida.
E: Biden speaks about the enormous impact of Tropical Storm Ian on Florida: 'We will do everything we can for you.'‘
Fierce gusts ripped off roofs, collapsed partitions, and shook structures from their foundations. Floods – along with tides of over 3 meters – inundated shops, bars, and restaurants. The heavily touristed Fisherman's Wharf grew into a dusty, surreal scene, with overturned boats removed from their regular moorings. The rancid smell of hardened mud, however, fills the air.
As winter progressed, business was picking up. Bars, restaurants, and the various family-run shops lining San Carlos Boulevard, the thoroughfare to Myers' seaside castle, were beginning to fill steadily. The start of the snow crab season in mid-October would bring even more energizing business.
Travelers boost the local financial system to the max, just like snowbirds flock to vacation homes to relax in the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Canada. "That's where our business comes from," Maguire said.
Even before the storm, there were combined economic signs for Fort Myers and the easing of restrictions in Lee County, where US Census Bureau figures show that more than 60% of organizations have fewer than 5 employees.
Florida's Department of Economic Probability reported that unemployment in the region had fallen for the remainder of the summer as the financial system recovered from COVID-19 – with the strongest growth in the entertainment and hospitality industries. In Castle Myers, the sector generated 2,700 new jobs in May compared to the same month 12 months prior.
However, the number of airport passengers in southwest Florida had already fallen in July 2022, dropping 13% compared to the previous year, according to a financial analysis of the area by the Florida Gulf Coast School. Tax revenues from tourists fell 2% in the region, with Lee County falling 4%. The analysis partially blames inflation for this slowdown.
With a family to support, including two younger children, fisherman Jake Luke is unable to make ends meet due to unemployment.
“Right now, we’re selling things, selling things we don’t need. I’m doing odd jobs – 50 dollars here, 100 dollars there,” he said. “We’re about eight days behind and I’m thinking of calling family about a mortgage.”
However, the season slowed down when the typhoon hit, but busy instances for seafood restaurants and fishing excursions were just ahead. “When the season came, I would be working 5 to 6 days a week – but it doesn’t look like we’ll have a season in these 12 months. At this capacity, I’m going to lose US$$ 50,000 a year” in profits.
Some business owners instructed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at a roundtable discussion on Wednesday that they could get their businesses up and running within a few weeks if they had access to generators and devices to replace what was damaged by the floods. Robbie Roepstorff, president of the local Edison bank, based in the community, mentioned that small businesses need cash to cover payroll, otherwise their employees would go elsewhere.
The Republican governor warned that recovery efforts faced the problem of a global supply chain crisis, but that these turned into positive limitations that could be overcome. Visit Florida, the state's tourism advertising and marketing agency, planned to run ads promoting the recovery efforts, he said.
“I think people will want to come,” DeSantis observed. “Not just today, but in the not-too-distant future.”
See: SpaceX's Starlink will reposition satellites to give Florida extra access to the cyber web as residents recover from Tropical Storm Ian.
Lee County's population is virtually 788,000 Americans. It's complicated to say exactly how many snowbirds raise the inhabitants. But a replacement size – gross retail earnings – traditionally jumps by just a third at the peak season in January, compared to the dog days of late summer.
However, many snowbirds undoubtedly did not return this year due to damage to their vacation homes or due to amenities – such as retail stores and restaurants – that have not yet fully recovered.
James Kratzke, who owns a vacation home in the seaside town of Myers, noted that the water practically reached the roof. Family members were on their way to inspect the damage. He became a resident of Wisconsin when the storm hit and doesn't know when he will return.
Throughout the area, crews were demolishing structures teetering on their foundations. Homeowners tried to salvage what they could of their waterlogged homes – racing against time, mold, and mildew.
Some business owners may be left with nothing to do, their livelihoods shattered, including many restaurants. GoFundMe campaigns have sprung up to help restaurant employees who have lost their jobs.
“The project here is over, but we’re going to rebuild elsewhere,” said Ashley Galassi, a bartender at Tina’s, a water fountain in Fisherman’s Wharf. “Probably all of this will be demolished, I’m sure. There’s not much left of the foundation.”
Galassi observed that she thinks the travelers "who were received won't be returning anytime soon" because "it's complete destruction for all of us," but she is certain that the neighborhood will be rebuilt.
“We’re all going to stick together,” Galassi said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
