FORT MYERS, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis provided updates on Hurricane Ian recovery efforts from Fort Myers on Saturday.
He was joined by local officials to announce that access has been cleared for residents to return to Fort Myers Beach.
"And so as of 7am This morning, the first group of residents did return to the island. More will be coming throughout the day. But but this is their home, and we want to make sure that that they're here," Gov. DeSantis said.
Portable showers, restroom, and hand-washing stations were brought in for residents who may not have access to functioning facilities while they work to clean and repair their homes.
99.8% of FPL customers that lost power due to Hurricane Ian have had their services restored.
Gov. DeSantis said crews from the Florida Department of Transportation are working around the clock to repair the Sanibel Causeway.
"We're working hard on the causeway that that will be done and I think probably ahead of schedule in terms of what most people would have been able to accomplish," Gov. DeSantis said. "You know, there's some parts of this country would take six months of bureaucracy to even start laying any dirt down. So we get we cut through that and get the stuff going."
Work on the causeway is expected to be completed by the end of October.
