Hurricane Ian Thread

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

My parents have heard back their insurance companies they’re thrilled both their car and boat made money… of course there’s now basically nothing to buy.

[Idiot]

I found out yesterday that my cousin's daughter and her family live on Sanibel Island.  In all of their wisdom they stayed during the hurricane, thinking it was headed to Tampa.  Their house on stilts survived, except for some water damage, but their truck floated away.  Still can't believe they stayed....ughhhh.  They are going to start school back for the kids on Monday I think they said, in another town, but with the same teachers.

[roamer_1]

I found out yesterday that my cousin's daughter and her family live on Sanibel Island.  In all of their wisdom they stayed during the hurricane, thinking it was headed to Tampa.  Their house on stilts survived, except for some water damage, but their truck floated away.  Still can't believe they stayed....ughhhh.  They are going to start school back for the kids on Monday I think they said, in another town, but with the same teachers.

That ain't zackly their fault IIRC... The evac for the places it hit came way late.

[Wingnut]

That ain't zackly their fault IIRC... The evac for the places it hit came way late.

Never under estimate the "Cone of uncertainty"

[libertybele]

I found out yesterday that my cousin's daughter and her family live on Sanibel Island.  In all of their wisdom they stayed during the hurricane, thinking it was headed to Tampa.  Their house on stilts survived, except for some water damage, but their truck floated away.  Still can't believe they stayed....ughhhh.  They are going to start school back for the kids on Monday I think they said, in another town, but with the same teachers.

Well, for days we were told it was going to make landfall at or around Tampa. Exactly the same mistake they made with hurricane Charley's path in '04.  I can't exactly fault your cousin's daughter -- weather reports were not in agreement and evacuation orders were not clear and in fact confusing.

We knew this was coming up this side of the Gulf which is never a good thing as it means storm surge.

They 'advised' those on Ft. Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island and St. James city to evacuate  when traffic was already heavy. (It took my friend 12 hours to get out of FL and she left 2 days before they started announcing evacuations).

They then evacuated Lee County in phases according to zones.  They were by  then certain of a direct hit -- and then mandated an evacuation of the barrier islands --how were all of us (780,000+) supposed to get out?? They announced that the bridges were closing and to evacuate or shelter in place by 8:00 p.m.  Yet, they closed the bridges when the winds hit over 45mph.  My daughter worked that night and had to go around barricades before the bridge to get home and with the winds worsening she knew there was no chance of evacuating the morning of the hurricane. 

At 9:00 the night before the hurricane, with no warning from the local weather, no alerts, our zone was mandated to evacuate!!  Yet, we were told ALL must be in place by 8:00. -- bridges were closing and it was too dangerous to be out.  We experienced hurricane force winds earlier than projected.

The local weather stations, the local alert systems, city managers, the sheriff of Lee County ALL FAILED!!  The sheriff got up and lied saying that people were warned to evacuate well in advance and he couldn't force them to leave.  As a result people died. 

We were hit hard for hours-- first the outer eyewall hit, then the eyewall hit and then we got slammed by the outer eye wall as it left. Many experienced significant storm surge, bridges collapsed.

Collier County saw storm surge as well and they were evacuated a day before Lee County. Lee County city managers were still debating and started evacuations a day and a half later!

Most importantly, there is no way to evacuate all of Collier County and Lee County within a couple of days. It is impossible.  There is one exit north and one exit east -- with a couple of jaunts here and there that takes you around some traffic but you wind up in the same mess.

[libertybele]

Never under estimate the "Cone of uncertainty"

Never under estimate your gut feeling. I was absolutely right.

[mystery-ak]

I found out yesterday that my cousin's daughter and her family live on Sanibel Island.  In all of their wisdom they stayed during the hurricane, thinking it was headed to Tampa.  Their house on stilts survived, except for some water damage, but their truck floated away.  Still can't believe they stayed....ughhhh.  They are going to start school back for the kids on Monday I think they said, in another town, but with the same teachers.

My sister and bil have a house on Sanibel..they haven't been down there since there is no power and no place to stay....from what they have been told...the house first floor wasn't damaged too bad...all the floors are ruined...most of the damage was in the garage where their two cars were flooded up to the cup holders...they were being re-modeled at the time so all the new appliances and furniture was store in the garage are ruined...no idea when they will go down..all depends when the power is restored..

[cato potatoe]

The cone definitely included Lee County well in advance.  Storm surge was always likely, as the circulation was medium-large as soon as it formed.  As beautiful as the barrier islands are, nobody should store anything valuable there, and nor should they consider riding out a tropical system.  Sanibel is just a sand bar ... come back in a few hundred years, and it will be in a different spot.

[libertybele]

The cone definitely included Lee County well in advance.  Storm surge was always likely, as the circulation was medium-large as soon as it formed.  As beautiful as the barrier islands are, nobody should store anything valuable there, and nor should they consider riding out a tropical system.  Sanibel is just a sand bar ... come back in a few hundred years, and it will be in a different spot.

Sanibel Island is beautiful.  We've walked the beaches several times and when we first moved here 30 years ago, the waters were a beautiful blue in color.  Yes, things have changed and I imagine that after they rebuild, Sanibel will be beautiful again with wonderful beaches, unique restaurants and specialty shops.

I wonder how Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge fared?  Lots of trails and boardwalks.

[libertybele]

Yay!!!! Unbelievable. Jerry's is unique in that they have a restaurant off to the side of their marketplace and you can have your groceries delivered to your car by a conveyor belt that goes from the second floor down to the parking garage.  We haven't been since the pandemic (cough,cough) hit...but we will certainly go to support them. We'll wait awhile so that those on the island that need groceries will be able to get what they need first.

Jerry’s Foods celebrates reopening on Sanibel Island after Hurricane Ian

Jerry’s Foods marked another milestone for Sanibel Island’s recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

The Sept. 28 storm brought 155 mph winds and at least a dozen feet of storm surge to the island. Jerry’s, built in 1983 and elevated more than 15 feet above ground level, did not flood, but suffered some damage, including a destroyed freezer and other cosmetic damage to the outside.

Inside, despite a vacant freezer, Jerry’s became the first grocery store to reopen on the island with a soft launch Friday. The building at 1700 Periwinkle Way rejoined the power grid Monday.

On Tuesday, Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith, Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce President John Lai and a team of employees from the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau cut the ceremonial ribbon 27 days after Hurricane Ian hit.

By Friday, the inside cafeteria should be serving hot meals to residents, reconstruction crews and first responders.

“We must have been some of the first people to get back on the island,” Jerry’s General Manager Rick Winningham said of the initial days following the storm. “It was unbelievable. It was almost like a bomb went off.”

Winningham said his heart sunk upon first seeing the building. There were downed trees everywhere and debris tossed by the winds, too.

“I literally thought it would be nine months to a year before we’d have the opportunity to open up for business again,” Winningham said.

Instead, it took less than four weeks.

“It’s huge,” Lai said of the morale boost Jerry’s would provide to residents of Sanibel. “It can’t be understated. This is our first step in restoration. It’s getting the essentials out to our residents and our businesses in the form of groceries...............

https://www.gulfshorebusiness.com/jerrys-foods-celebrates-reopening-on-sanibel-island-after-hurricane-ian/

[cato potatoe]

Sanibel Island is beautiful.  We've walked the beaches several times and when we first moved here 30 years ago, the waters were a beautiful blue in color.  Yes, things have changed and I imagine that after they rebuild, Sanibel will be beautiful again with wonderful beaches, unique restaurants and specialty shops.

I wonder how Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge fared?  Lots of trails and boardwalks.

The refuge was also crushed by Charley, but nature has a way of mending itself.  I think you will be surprised at how things progress with building and infrastructure repairs around Lee Co.  The natural beauty will take more time, and the “Old Florida” wooden structures aren’t coming back.  However, the area has too many people with an interest in restoring their memories to keep it from languishing.