On Wednesday, Estero Village Manager Steve Sarkozy provided updates on Hurricane Ian’s damage and recovery in Estero.

A number of the 1,400 homes severely affected by the storm experienced complete destruction. The village’s top priority is assisting residents impacted throughout the permitting and rebuilding process, Sarkozy said.

Since November, Estero has allowed its council chambers to be used as a disaster recovery center for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration. Assistance from FEMA and the SBA is available Monday through Saturday to serve the community, helping an average of 22 residents daily.

On Tuesday, 100 building permits were submitted by Indigo Shores, one of West Bay’s communities, as the entire first floor of every building in the community was wiped out.

The village has made multiple passes throughout the community for debris collection, picking up 250,000 cubic yards out of the county’s 4 million cubic yards. “There are people, particularly in some of these heavily impacted areas, that are still going through demolition on their homes and bringing materials out,” Sarkozy said.

While debris is picked up in most of the village, many of the communities affected in Estero, such as along Broadway West, may take more time. “On Broadway West there is a tremendous need,” Mayor Katy Errington said. “You can’t see it visually as you go down the road, but once you drive back into the developments, you can see the devastation that occurred. We have to be mindful of our neighbors and what they have gone through.”

The village will continue efforts to pick up debris in affected areas, taking collected debris to a site at Coconut Road and U.S. 41, with the majority of Estero’s debris on the north end of the property. Three weeks ago, the village hired seven debris-hauling trucks to transition to final disposal, expecting Estero’s debris to be taken off the site and into the final disposal site by February.