ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — Sand is piled up to the first floor of most homes on Manasota Key, a sliver of land off Florida’s west coast, where devastation is widespread.

So, we hastily planned a trip to the only place in Florida we’d never heard of, Manasota Key. Even Floridians aren’t entirely sure where this one is.

Scores of Manasota Key homes and businesses were severely damaged after Hurricane Helene landed on Sept. 26. Then last Wednesday came Milton’s much higher storm surge and more powerful wind ...