HORSESHOE BEACH, FLORIDA

WHEN CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE IDALIA, complete with 125-mph winds, came pounding across the Gulf of Mexico in August 2023, Horseshoe Beach, Florida, took a direct hit.

- Derek Burnett

An idyllic enclave of some 200 permanent residents in the state's sparsely populated Big Bend region, the town prides itself on its old-fashioned vibe, neighborly spirit and resistance to commercialization.

"They paved the roads back about 15 years ago," says Mayor Jeff Williams, "and a lot of people in town raised Cain about it." Horseshoe Beach had no cell service or internet access until 2014.

Now, one of Florida's final frontiers faced an existential threat. Idalia's storm surge damaged or destroyed every building that wasn't constructed on pilings. Forty homes were washed away completely. Devastated residents returned to town later the same day, shell-shocked and numb. Then they started cleaning up the mess.