Hurricane Ian Walker: Smashed Homes, Businesses, and Residents Throughout Florida after a Category 4 Severe Storm, and Several Emergency Emergency Preparedness Plans
The coastlines of Georgia and South Carolina have the potential to sustain significant alterations as a result of the damaging waves and storm surge brought by Ian.
Florida is taking stock of the havoc Ian caused when it smashed the southwest coast as a Category 4 storm. Homes on the coast were washed out to sea, buildings were smashed throughout the state, and floodwater ruined homes and businesses and trapped residents, even inland in places like the Orlando area.
Hundreds of rescues have taken place by land, air and sea, with residents stuck in homes or stranded on rooftops, and searchers still are performing wellness checks, especially in the Fort Myers and Naples areas, where feet of storm surge inundated streets and homes.
The storm has posed new deadly dangers to its own. Some standing water is electrified, officials warned, while maneuvering through debris-strewn buildings and streets – many without working traffic signals – risks injury. Lack of air conditioning and improper generator use can cause heat illness and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Walker was in the home that was damaged by the storm in North Port. There was a piece of her ceiling hanging down.
She told CNN’s John Berman that the doors were open and water was coming in through them. “It’s all in my closets; I’ve got to empty out my closets.”
The Tropical Hurricane Invest 98L: Forecasts for an Episodic Storm and Implications for Florida and the South Central U.S.
• More than 2 million outages: Millions of Floridians who were in Ian’s path are still in the dark as of early Friday, according to PowerOutage.us. Most counties with the highest percentage of residents without power lie in the southwest, including Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto and Hardee.
Historic flooding in central and northern Florida resulted in at least three rivers hitting all-time flood records. The flooding was so bad that it exceeded a foot in some areas.
• Coastal islands completely isolated from mainland: Sanibel and Captiva islands in southwest Florida are cut off from the mainland after several parts of a critical causeway were torn away. The bridge may need to be rebuilt after two people died in the storm, according to local officials. A second bridge has collapsed and 50 feet of road is washed away on the tiny island of Matlacha according to a resident of the island.
McMaster, of South Carolina, implored residents not to underestimate the storm’s danger and urged them to follow storm warnings closely to prepare for impact on Friday.
In addition to flooding communities behind the dunes, the storm may push sand back and deposit it inland, which could “reduce the height of protective sand dunes, alter beach profiles and leave areas behind the dunes more vulnerable to future storms,” the agency said.
“We’re not forecasting a major hurricane. We’re not forecasting rapid intensification at this time,” Rhome said. He told residents of Florida and the southeastern U.S. to pay attention.
“Do not focus on the exact track of Nicole since it is expected to be a large storm with hazards extending well to the north of the center, and outside the cone,” the National Hurricane Center warned Monday.
The US territories of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands have been placed under a flash flood watch.
According to Robert Shackelford of CNN, it is likely to hit Florida and the Southeast US by early this week.
In case of a storm impacting Florida, I encourage all Floridians to make a plan and be prepared. The path and trajectory of Invest 98L will be monitored by us and we will keep in touch with all state and local government partners.
On Tuesday, which is Election Day, much of the Florida Peninsula can expect breezy to gusty conditions. There is a chance of rain throughout the day in central and eastern cities such as Miami and Daytona Beach.
A Statewide Measurement of the Continuum Effects of the Tropical, Subtropical, and Tropical Winds from the South of Daytona and the Bahamas
As the state continues to recover, officials are working with local emergency management authorities across the state.
The goal is to “identify potential resource gaps and to implement plans that will allow the state to respond quickly and efficiently ahead of the potential strengthening” of the storm system, said the release.
And although the exact forecast for the upcoming storm is still unclear, forecasters said confidence has increased that the storm system could develop into a tropical or subtropical depression within the next two days.
A Hurricane watch is in place from the east of Daytona to the south of Fort Lauderdale. The watch covers both Lake Okeechobee as well as the northern Bahamas.
The NHC said in a video that the storm is likely to hit Florida as a top-end tropical storm or bottom-end Hurricane.