Days after Category 4 Hurricane Ian came ashore near the tony seaside community, residents are taking stock and trying to put their lives back together.
Hurricane Ian washed away several portions of the Sanibel Causeway, a series of bridges linking the island to the rest of the state. It will require structural rebuilds, Florida's governor says.
Images of the aftermath show a glimpse of the destruction caused by the powerful Category 4 hurricane: homes washed out, boats yanked from their moorings, and decimated neighborhoods.
People with disabilities, people who can't afford it and people who don't want to abandon their pets are among the many who can't easily get up and leave before a hurricane.
St. Petersburg and Tampa are preparing for what could be their first direct hit by a major hurricane in over a century. Officials there are urging people to comply with evacuation orders immediately.
The National Weather Service's Joel Cline wants residents to know when danger is coming. But he adds, "If people think of a hurricane as a dot and a city as a dot, I think they've missed the point."
Ian had top winds of 125 mph and storm surge up to 14 feet as it moved over the western end of Cuba. It could head for Tampa and St. Petersburg next, the first direct hit on those cities in a century.
A large stretch of Florida's coast is now under a hurricane watch. Ian is only the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season, but experts warn that even one storm can upend many people's lives.