Hurricane Ian

[8gv]

Recently there was discussion here about the wind on Winni and a mostly sunk boat.

Hurricane Ian is likely to sink quite a few boats and deposit others inland.

I'd bet there are some folks on this forum who are sitting on the edge of their seat watching the predicted storm track and "spaghetti" models as they are updated every few hours.

After being missed several times in my twenty-two years of SW FL ownership, I have a bad feeling about this one.

So much so that I flew down Sunday afternoon to "prepare".

The boat is on a lift with no other place to go.

I shall put in the plug, tie it down seven ways to Sunday, raise her above the tidal surge level, take off the bimini and go hide.

The last time I did this was for Hurricane Charlie when I was a bit more spry.

For that one I moved all the first floor furniture up to the second floor and barricaded the sliding glass doors with mattresses and heavy items.

I took refuge in the middle of the parking garage at Tampa International Airport.

The work made me dog tired but sleeping in the car was tough.

The phone rang after I had finally nodded off.

It was wifey with the good news (for us anyway) that the storm had turned inland well south of us and we were to get nearly nothing from it!

I expect to shelter in the same garage again for the worst of it but I'm not expecting any jubilant phone calls this time.

In the grand scheme of things, it's just "stuff" but this time I'm pretty sure my stuff is going to get stuffed!

[Sue Doe-Nym]

We are watching intently, but all we can do is hope the storm veers off, as many have in the past. Nothing we can do from here but cross our fingers and hope for the best. We are thinking that this time might be the big one. I hope that the stubborn diehards listen up and leave when they are told to do so, not putting first responders and others at risk. Stay tuned…..

[ApS]

Now a Category 1 (weakest) hurricane: Click link.

Currently aimed at Cedar Key (on coast), Live Oak (inland). So, if you live in those locations, Hurricane Ian will surely miss you!


Many pages of discussions by hurricane-hardened Florida residents:

(See link).

Earlier, the eastward tracking suggested it could follow Hurricane Charley's path. (Peace River, and the badly-affected towns of Punta Gorda and Arcadia).

[TiltonBB]

I am watching intently and checking weather updates with links to WINK News and NBC 2 in Fort Myers.

The updates seem to show some tracking of the storm westward and landfall above Ft. Myers. I hope it keeps going in that direction. (Sorry if that is your area)

https://www.winknews.com/2022/09/23/...g-toward-swfl/

I had a house built last year in Ft Myers and the pool screen cage just went in two weeks ago. It would be a shame if it blew away before I ever got to see it! After the last hurricane the screen people were quoting and scheduling repair jobs a year out.

The trades are already backed up substantially for any work. A hurricane would obviously make that a lot worse. There is a lot of new construction to house the 1,000 people a day moving to Florida.

I am planning to drive to Florida in about a week. I hope for everyone already there that this storm is not a major disaster.

[smith point boater]

We're in Bonita Springs inland 4-5 miles - hopefully just south of where Ian will hit. 2nd floor condo with hurricane shutters already in place. We just (and I mean in the last 2 weeks ) got our roofs replaced from Hurricane Irma in 2017. The insurance companies don't pay without a fight

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by smith point boater

We're in Bonita Springs inland 4-5 miles - hopefully just south of where Ian will hit. 2nd floor condo with hurricane shutters already in place. We just (and I mean in the last 2 weeks ) got our roofs replaced from Hurricane Irma in 2017. The insurance companies don't pay without a fight

I hope your association found a good roofer!

I lost the roof on my last Florida house (Estero) during Hurricane Irma. I hired Crowther Roofing to replace it.

Casey Crowther got $1.75 million in PPP loans by submitting fraudulent paperwork. He even listed employees and Social Security numbers that didn't exist.

He bought a $1 million waterfront home and a $750,000 boat. Not the best decisions he could have made. It was all fun and games until the indictment!

Now he is doing 3 years in Federal Prison.

https://www.winknews.com/2021/06/29/...tencing-today/

PS. The new roof leaked and they had to come back 3 times to attempt repairs.

[Bear Guy]

I am one of those watching every update. I live in north central Florida. Today's predicted track of Ian says the eye will pass within a few tens of miles of my house.
I'm 90' above sea level, so no concern of storm surge. But I anticipate widespread and prolonged power outages, and localized flooding, including half my property to be underwater and stay that way for a while.

[8gv]

As I ponder my predicament the Titanic comes to mind.

If I could get my little boat hauled it could get destroyed by being blown off a rack or a building could collapse on it.

It could even be fated for holing by projectile.

It was a good 20 hours that I got to put on it.

At least it got broken in before it gets broken.

[brk-lnt]

Formulating boat plans with the neighbors. I'm going to adjust my Slidemoor's to give me a little more vertical reach. That should accommodate at least 4' of storm surge, which is probably the most we will see.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

Formulating boat plans with the neighbors. I'm going to adjust my Slidemoor's to give me a little more vertical reach. That should accommodate at least 4' of storm surge, which is probably the most we will see.

I dont know how close you are to Tampa Bay, but the tidal surge could be much greater than four feet. This depends on whether the eye passes north or south of the opening to Tampa Bay. Right now, it's aimed at Hudson, where my good friends live. They've complained that their beautiful canal-side 3-story is actually quite fragile.

AccuWeather: Strength as the fourth hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

AccuWeather forecasters warn that the storm will continue to rapidly gain intensity during the next couple of days and is forecast to become a Category 4 behemoth in the Gulf of Mexico by midweek.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurri...lorida/1252603

[8gv]

It looks like there will be severe damage to the homes on Tierra Verde where my place is.

As bad as that may seem I am more concerned with the land (sand really) being washed away.

How does one rebuild when their lot has been relocated into the Gulf?

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by ApS

I dont know how close you are to Tampa Bay, but the tidal surge could be much greater than four feet.

We're on Boca Ciega Bay.
I doubt we'll see storm surge of more than 4 feet here. I do not doubt there will be a lot of damage and clean-up, but I'm not expecting to see insanely high water where we are. Either way, our house is elevated, so the first living level is 12' above ground, and about 16' above normal high tide.

[SAMIAM]

Our place is in Cape Coral.....boat is secure on the lift but not much we can do from here.

[Newbiesaukee]

I wish I could feel more philosophic about this, but we lost our home and almost all our possessions in Andrew. Andrew was a very rapidly moving relatively small hurricane and produced relatively little flooding or storm surge. It was a short lived severe (Cat 5) wind event rather than a water event. I think Ian has the potential for much more destruction for many more people.

[ishoot308]

Praying for all you Florida home owners as it appears Ian will be a category 5 monster when it hits land anytime now...

Dan

[Susie Cougar]

I live in Parrish, Florida which is about 10 miles inland from the Sarasota and Bradenton area. I had my hurricane shutters put up yesterday and I am staying in a hotel just north of Tampa. I hated being at home during hurricane Irma, five years ago, because once your shutters are up it is completely dark and then you lose your power And it’s just terrible. You can’t see what’s going on outside. I couldn’t figure out how to use my radio so I didn’t know what was happening.

The ironic thing is that we have a contract on our house and we are supposed to close in a few weeks; everything is very nerve-racking.

[Redbarn]

Looks like it is going to hit don padro/palm island resort. RIP Rum Bay.

They just finished dredging stump pass from the last hurricane.

[Little Bear]

Last shot from my camera on Marco Island before the power went out at about 10:30 this morning. My boat survived Irma, but I had to replace all the electronics. I don't think I'll be so lucky this time.

[John Mercier]

Well, hopefully the death and serious injury toll will be low...

[ApS]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Cuba-NHC.html

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

I wish I could feel more philosophic about this, but we lost our home and almost all our possessions in Andrew. Andrew was a very rapidly moving relatively small hurricane and produced relatively little flooding or storm surge. It was a short lived severe (Cat 5) wind event rather than a water event. I think Ian has the potential for much more destruction for many more people.

Coral Gables was notable for perhaps a hundred uprooted tropical Banyan trees, whose upturned roots reached 60-feet into the sky.

I lived only three miles south of Coral Gables in South Miami. Damage from downed trees meant traffic was mostly at a standstill. Local folks moved windblown debris, so pathways were made for cars and trucks.

My screened porch had the aluminum structure crumpled. That porch was my temporary workplace for restoring a 1960 four-passenger convertibIe. It received nary a scratch!

I was in Wolfeboro at the time, and arrived back in South Miami on the very hour that electricity was restored...Restoring electricity took two weeks!

Neighbors in our little neighborhood pooled resources and had rotating communal BBQs every evening.

Those who experienced Hurricane Andrew have many true stories of the devastation. It was later calculated that Hurricane Andrew had 500 embedded tornadoes!

One wooden sign, designating Fairchild Gardens was retrieved from an airport eight miles away! One reinforced-concrete sill blew off a suburban home's roof, flew over to a neighbor's house, and killed a woman in her kitchen! My late optometrist and skilled race car driver, "Shelly" Dobkin, had his Piper Seminole aircraft break its moorings, and sailed into the woods surrounding the airport. My CPA and her son searched for their lost dog, and after several leads by distant residents, finally found it! Expressing their gratitude, they turned around, and realized they were hopelessly lost. No street signs remained to guide them back home!

Sixty-five people died in Hurricane Andrew.

The accounts go on and on. The only good thing to come out of Hurricane Andrew was a major revision of building codes, which have since been adopted by many counties. Prior building codes were constantly being subverted by the scores of disreputable contractors who built Dade County's hurricane-vulnerable suburban sprawl. I expect the same subversion is going on right now.

And, oh yes, more people will die because of this "wet" hurricane, and the refusal to believe a storm could be so destructive. When told by Sheriffs to evacuate before the bridges were raised, they said they'd "ride it out".

Originally Posted by Susie Cougar

I live in Parrish, Florida which is about 10 miles inland from the Sarasota and Bradenton area. I had my hurricane shutters put up yesterday and I am staying in a hotel just north of Tampa. I hated being at home during hurricane Irma, five years ago, because once your shutters are up it is completely dark and then you lose your power And it’s just terrible. You can’t see what’s going on outside. I couldn’t figure out how to use my radio so I didn’t know what was happening. The ironic thing is that we have a contract on our house and we are supposed to close in a few weeks; everything is very nerve-racking.

I had to wait until Hurricane Ian passed you by before I could tell of my tour of southern Dade County. I waited two weeks before going down there. As bad as we had it north of there, it was ten-times worse further south. At least we had street signs!

I drove by a distant landmark, a Holiday Inn. It had four or five floors, but what was remarkable, it no longer had walls. (!) You could see the distant skies directly through the entire building!

[laketrout]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

We're on Boca Ciega Bay.
I doubt we'll see storm surge of more than 4 feet here. I do not doubt there will be a lot of damage and clean-up, but I'm not expecting to see insanely high water where we are. Either way, our house is elevated, so the first living level is 12' above ground, and about 16' above normal high tide.

New Hampshirite and the lakes region could use the rainfall from Ian. As the drought up here continues! I feel for my friends and the people of Florida Impacted-by Ian!

[8gv]

Good news for me, really bad for others...

I got back to my place on Tierra Verde this afternoon to find the power was on and I had ZERO damage!

It turns out that all of the preparations I did were unnecessary, or maybe they weren't?

Tempting a cat 4 monster by not preparing seems to be a bad strategy.

A scant 125 miles south of me there is life altering devastation.

They deserve all the help they can get!

Good luck to the Atlantic coast.

Good riddance Ian!

[smith point boater]

Our complex and unit appear to have survived the storm relatively unscathed. However we are 3-5 miles from different area beaches from Naples to Ft Myers. They are devastated. From news pics and contacts everything west of Rt 41 (the main route from Marco Island to Ft Myers ) has some form of major damage. Bonita Beach Road (10 -12 miles of beach access and homes) is almost totally covered in sand. EVERY beach front restaurant and bar that we patronized is GONE!! Ft Myers Pier is gone (that was a 1/4 mile long pier built on cement pilings). Times Square - the main shopping and tourist area at the end of Ft Myers beach - appears to be totally wiped out. As someone else said access to Sanibel/Captiva island is gone - Whole section of the toll bridge is gone. It will take years for that area to recover - if they ever fully do. Very sad

[steve-on-mark]

Originally Posted by smith point boater

Our complex and unit appear to have survived the storm relatively unscathed. However we are 3-5 miles from different area beaches from Naples to Ft Myers. They are devastated. From news pics and contacts everything west of Rt 41 (the main route from Marco Island to Ft Myers ) has some form of major damage. Bonita Beach Road (10 -12 miles of beach access and homes) is almost totally covered in sand. EVERY beach front restaurant and bar that we patronized is GONE!! Ft Myers Pier is gone (that was a 1/4 mile long pier built on cement pilings). Times Square - the main shopping and tourist area at the end of Ft Myers beach - appears to be totally wiped out. As someone else said access to Sanibel/Captiva island is gone - Whole section of the toll bridge is gone. It will take years for that area to recover - if they ever fully do. Very sad

Couple of pics from Bonita Beach....first is Doc's Beach House under water, 2nd is foundation and concrete floor damage at the Bonita Beach Club... the whole complex is a mess!

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by 8gv

I got back to my place on Tierra Verde this afternoon to find the power was on and I had ZERO damage!

Fortunately that seems to be the summary for our area. As of now, things are 95% back to normal around here, IMO. We didn't even have that many boats break loose in the bay and wash around, overall we've had bigger impacts from previous popup storms than this.

[TiltonBB]

My house is fine compared to many others in Ft. Myers. The pool was not quite complete and the three week old screen cage didn't make it. I am ready to head down but will wait until electric and cable are restored.

Someone just messaged me that a nearby neighborhood just got their power back. I understand the water pressure is very low because a pumping station was submerged.

It will be a long time before things return to normal. Many snowbirds may skip this year. Fort Myers Airport is closed until October 7. The airlines are doing "ferry flights" (No passengers, just a Captain and First Officer) to return the aircraft to many Florida airports.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

My house is fine compared to many others in Ft. Myers. The pool was not quite complete and the three week old screen cage didn't make it. I am ready to head down but will wait until electric and cable are restored.

Someone just messaged me that a nearby neighborhood just got their power back. I understand the water pressure is very low because a pumping station was submerged.

It will be a long time before things return to normal. Many snowbirds may skip this year. Fort Myers Airport is closed until October 7. The airlines are doing "ferry flights" (No passengers, just a Captain and First Officer) to return the aircraft to many Florida airports.

Sorry about the damage Tilton….Hopefully everything gets fixed and restored as soon as possible…

Dan

[Sue Doe-Nym]

That’s too bad, TiltonBB. Our complex in Sarasota didn’t even lose power…just minimal standing water, etc, but our daughter, just 15 minutes away still has no power, but no flooding, so we were lucky. My sister and brother in law, however, in Bonita Springs, had flooding so severe that their car floated away, and they had to be rescued from their barrier island….a terrible loss, and they are in their late 80s….too much stress to fully comprehend.

[steve-on-mark]

My wife's family owns a condo at the Bonita Beach Club. One of the full time residents is sending everyone pictures...looks like the first floor is partially under water, pool buildings and fences are gone.

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[gillygirl]

I live in central Florida in the Four Corners area. Winds sustained around 25mph, gusting to 40. Worst is expected shortly through the overnight. Worst part is my ONT box for Wi-Fi decided to die this morning. Thank God for 3 cellular devices.


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[TiltonBB]

It looks like this is "The Big One".

My pool screen cage at a new house was completed two weeks ago. A neighbor says not only are the screens gone but the aluminum structure is down.

Communication is difficult. Lee County Electric, the area around Ft Myers, has 286,000 customers. 280,000 are without power. Cell service is down.

Governor Desantis says 30,000 electric workers are standing by but winds need to be below 5 MPH before they can go up in bucket trucks to begin repairs.

It will be 48 hours before a real sense of what has happened and what the future looks like comes into focus.

[WinnisquamZ]

Similar to New Orleans. A decade before things return. Sad


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[WinnisquamZ]

Just terrible. Years away from normalcy. Think New Orleans. What does one do with a 40’ boat in your yard filled with diesel fuel


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[searay]

Thanks for posting the video. Damage to the marinas is awful. What will they do with all of these damaged boats. I don’t think anyone has seen this much destruction. The west coast from Venice to Naples approximately 80 miles of shore line damage and inland flooding.

We have a small boat in Venice. I don’t think I will be using much this year. There has to be so much debris in the water.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by WinnisquamZ

Just terrible. Years away from normalcy. Think New Orleans. What does one do with a 40’ boat in your yard filled with diesel fuel

Real estate expert says the area will get rebuilt, and soon enough, "You won't recognize it". Rentals by opportunistic investors will become the norm.

https://www.winknews.com/2022/10/17/...ook-on-market/

Before Hurricane Andrew struck SW Florida, weatherman Neil Frank, now 90, would breathlessly warn his Miami WPLG-TV audience of the devastation that tidal surges would bring with hurricanes.

Regarding boats, it's the "tidal surge" that carries boats inland. Florida sees hurricanes moving boats into fenced neighborhoods, forests, and mangrove islands while firmly attached to their trailers!