Much of the furniture and appliances in homes became destroyed and unusable, creating piles of trash on the roads to be taken to the landfill. The Sanibel Causeway that once welcomed residents and visitors to the island was also partially destroyed.

Sanibel Island suffered catastrophic damage during Hurricane Ian in 2022, and the recovery process is still a major talking point in early 2026. The most significant structural blow was the partial collapse of the Sanibel Causeway, the only bridge connecting the island to the mainland. Beyond the bridge, nearly every building on the island sustained some level of wind or flood damage. Iconic locations like the Sanibel Lighthouse saw their internal structures compromised and surrounding "keeper's quarters" destroyed. The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge lost massive swaths of mangroves and seen its boardwalks ripped apart. While 2026 has seen a "renaissance" with many resorts and shops reopening in even more resilient, "storm-proof" configurations, the island's natural vegetation is still in a multi-year regrowth phase. The community has used the rebuilding effort to implement "Green Infrastructure" designed to better withstand the stronger storms of the 2020s.