Fort Myers Beach has been inhabited for nearly 2000 years. The Calusa lived there and had a very large settlement in the 1000s up until the 16th century. They built up certain sections of the barrier island using shells deposited over centuries. If you look over some of the footage you will see the property of The Mound House still stable bc it’s 13 feet above sea level.

The problem is not forcing people to abandon barrier islands but how we build and use them. Fort Myers Beach will have a long rebuilding process and needs to make some changes. I think they will have to plant more mangroves and promote the development of coastal dunes. Also maybe avoid building within a certain distance along the beach facing the gulf.

Also hurricanes will increase in strength with climate change but this is a once in a century storm for the area. It’s been at least 100 or more years since something this devastating happened to the area.