Stories of Hurricane Ian, Second-most Expensive Storm Ever

Posted: October 4, 2022 9:35 am

Hurricane Ian made a second landfall after heading out on the ocean after leaving parts of Florida in ruins. Fort Myers appeared like a ghost town, and at least 47 people lost their lives, but the count will probably continue climbing as recovery efforts uncover more deaths. More than 2.7 million Florida residents have no power, and many areas remain submerged in flood waters that make it impossible to begin making repairs to the power grid.

Some of the following vignettes from various websites tell the story of Hurricane Ian from the victims’ perspectives:

• Pre-landfall Destruction
  Even before making landfall in Florida, the storm generate incredible damage like downing power lines, generating storm surges and causing widespread flooding.
  
• Landfall
  Making landfall on the Gulf Coast, which is unusual, Hurricane Ian devastated the area with the full brunt of a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds. Homes and businesses were flooded, people were stranded
  
• Feeding Fort Myers
  One Fort Myers couple, Cal Bruno and his wife Genevieve, decided to feed the storm’s victims at their Bruno’s of Brooklyn Italian restaurant. The couple offered pasta to help people cope with the storm in an area bereft of the usual crowds. They fed about 500 people on Thursday and 1,200 on Friday.
  
• Searching for love Ones
  The storm left many people stranded in various locations, and some people became even more desperate to find family members and friends. One woman desperately searched for her uncle, who lived a homeless life in Fort Myers. Where do homeless people go under these circumstances?
  
• Flamingos Housed in Toilets
  The Sunken Gardens, a St. Petersburg biological park, moved the enormously popular pink flamingos to bathrooms for safety. The zoo tweeted about the relocation to inform animal lovers that the birds were safely “hunkered down” and having a “Hurricane Party.”
  
• Fort Myers Damage
  Fort Myers suffered such devastation that many people doubt it can be restored anytime soon. Entire apartment buildings disappeared, pool sheds are gone and the local library is missing. One resident likened the situation to three remaining buildings standing alone in the Sahara desert.
  
• Barrier Island Cut Off by Ian
  Sanibel Causeway was severely damaged and closed to traffic after part of the road fell into the sea, which effectively stranded the barrier island’s population. Rescue teams eventually evacuated survivors who were sweltering in the tropical heat without power days after the storm made landfall. The storm ravaged many areas up and down the coast from Florida to Virginia and created similar pockets of isolation because of storm debris, flooding, record-level storm surges and destruction of accommodations.
  
• Estimates of Losses Caused by Ian
  Although many areas suffered damages that haven’t yet been cataloged, preliminary estimates put the damage caused by Hurricane Ian at $60 billion, which makes it the most expensive U.S. hurricane except for Katrina.
  
• NAS Key West Housing Evacuated
  The continuous impacts of the storm finally resulted in evacuating NAS Key West Housing facilities for Naval personnel. The evacuation was ordered at 10:00 p.m. on September 27, 2022, because of extensive flood damages.
  
• Riding Out the Storm
  Many people decided to ride out the storm but quickly discovered their mistake. One 81-year-old, Maria Acerbo, decided to stay at home with her husband Tom in St. James City, but the couple was rescued by Medic Corps, a nonprofit group providing assistance. Acerbo explained that everything they had was destroyed.
  
  The family piano was found floating downstairs among displaced furniture from other rooms. Important papers, photo albums and files were a soaking, disintegrated mess.
  
• Mobile Home Fallacy Proven
  Some people suggest that mobile homes often survive damage when more permanent dwellings don’t. Mobile home owners Mitzi and Rich Smith survived Hurricane Charley in 2004 and decided not to evacuate because they now owned a generator and wouldn’t need to worry abou\t losing power. However, the record-setting storm surges not only destroyed their home but also took their generator and two cars.
  
• Second U.S. Landfall
  Ian weakened back to a tropical storm over the Atlantic Ocean, but regained Category 1 strength as it made an additional landfall in South Carolina. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, generated sustained winds of 85 miles-per-hour, and like Florida, exceptional damage occurred before landfall with torrential rain, downed power lines and flooding of downtown Charleston. A popular pier completely collapsed and floated away in the community of Pawleys Island. Myrtle Beach, the ever-popular college getaway, suffered damage from heavy waves against the boardwalk.
  
• Inland Florida Cities Suffer Extensive Floods
  Even inland cities of the Florida peninsula suffered severe flood damage from Ian, and that includes the areas outside of evacuation orders. Inland cities suffered extreme rainfall that transformed roads into canals and trapped many families in their homes. Power losses were also common, which further isolated Florida’s stranded inland residents.
  
  The rivers created deluges that overflowed the banks to flood homes, businesses and roads. That created a situation where rescue workers were required just like the coastal areas. Water continued to rise for days leading to wondering when it would ever stop.
  
• Ian’s Effects in South Carolina
  Ian’s landfall in South Carolina was the state’s first in almost six years. Although the storm faded to tropical storm status fairly quickly, the initial damages included storm surges, power line destruction, heavy rains and high winds. South Carolina suffered memorable storm surges along the coast, dangerous flooding and a tremendous impact affecting St. Pawleys Island in Georgetown County.
  
  Power outages included 240,000 across the state, but the number quickly dropped as power was restored to all but 16,000 customers in Horry, Charleston, Georgetown, Florence and Williamsburg counties.
  Half of Pawleys Island residents lost power.
  
• Cuba Makes Rare Request for U.S. Aid
  Cuba broke its official silence with Washington for a rare request for humanitarian financial aid to relieve storm damage and fund rescue operations. Cuba suffered extensive damage including an island-wide power blackout. No exact amount of money was requested, and it was unknown whether Havana would supplement the funds. The island nation suffered catastrophic damage and total loss of power because of its antiquated power grid.
  
• Coast Guard Reports Rescued People
  The U.S. Coast Guard reported saving 325 people and 83 pets in its efforts to support the citizens of Florida. Those numbers are as of Friday at 8:00 p.m., and they are likely to rise. Experts also expect the death toll to rise considerably based on victims drowned at sea, which are hard to determine until rescue efforts are competed.

Vignettes Provide a Human Touch During a Time of Crisis

These vignettes have been provided to give you a more complete picture of the good and bad consequences of the storm. It’s important to remember that the storm caused damage to Cuba, the Grand Cayman Islands, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and extensive flooding in North Carolina and Virginia. Flooding rescue efforts are still underway in all these areas.

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