Recovery is far from complete in hard-hit Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Pine Island, with this year's Atlantic hurricane season officially beginning June 1. In southwest Florida, piles of debris are everywhere. Demolition and construction work is ongoing across the region. Trucks filled with sand rumble to renourish the eroded beaches. Blank concrete slabs reveal where buildings, many of them once charming, decades-old structures that gave the towns their relaxed beach vibe, were washed away or torn down. Some people, like Fort Myers Beach resident Jacquelyn Velazquez, are living in campers or tents on their property while they await sluggish insurance checks to rebuild lives. Robert Burton and his partner Cindy Lewis, both 71 and from Ohio, whose mobile home was totaled by storm surge, spent months living with friends and family until finally a hotel room was provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They can stay there until March 2024 while they look for a new home. Still, others, like Michael Cellura who now lives with his 15-year-old dog Ginger in his old Infiniti sedan, remain homeless after the storm. Cellura, a chef, has a new job at another location of the Nauti Parrot restaurant on the mainland. Insurance only paid off the outstanding loan amount on his destroyed camper and he didn't qualify for FEMA aid, leaving him with virtually nothing to start over and apartment rents rising fast. But, after 22 years on the island, he's not giving up. The community has also formed a response, with volunteers from Beach Baptist Church and FK Your Kitchen helping provide food and other resources to residents in need.
Like hundreds of others, Michael Cellura was left homeless after the Category 5 hurricane blasted the barrier island last September with ferocious winds and storm surge as high as 15 feet.
