Storm-battered Florida businesses face arduous rebuilding

Walt Disney World and other tourist attractions in central Florida appeared to have avoided severe damage from Hurricane Ian, but many businesses on the state's southwestern coast were hammered and face a long rebuilding process.

In Fort Myers, video posted on social media showed the Times Square, a colorful area of shops and restaurants, leveled by the storm. Sanibel, a barrier island dotted with resorts and connected to Fort Myers by a causeway, was devastated.

Carol Dovey, president of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, paused in the middle of an interview to watch live television, and was relieved to see the Westin Cape Coral Resort along the marina in Fort Myers still standing.

“But now everything that they are showing on CNN is flattened. I don’t see anything but rubble,” she gasped. “We have a lot of rebuilding to do, and it’s not done in a month. This sometimes takes years.”