“It’s going to go down in the history books.”Ĭraig Fugate, former head of FEMA and former director of Florida’s emergency management division, said on WLRN on Friday that Hurricane Ian’s surge was some of the worst he’d ever seen. “Storm surge is gonna be what this storm is remembered for,” said Jeff Berardelli, a meteorologist and climate specialist with WFLA in Tampa Bay. The estimate stood at 50 deaths on Saturday, a number that is expected to grow as searches continue this week. Gov Ron DeSantis called it a flood of “biblical” proportions, and President Joe Biden warned it could prove one of Florida’s deadliest hurricanes. Miami Herald Cole Mazza talks about his ordeal swimming to safety with his two cats as Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s west coast as a category 4 storm, on September 29, 2022. “So I stuffed my cats in my carry-on suitcase, grabbed my sister’s ashes and jumped out the living room window.”Īfter dodging floating projectiles like fences and mailboxes, he found salvation in a neighbor’s home on stilts at the end of the street. It was rising so fast I knew it was only a matter of minutes before I was underwater,” he said. “A mini-tsunami hit and the water came up to my front doorknob. On Sanibel Island, where Ian’s eyewall came ashore, the Gulf of Mexico rushed inland, sending floodwaters from a puddle on the street to the height of a stop sign in under half an hour.Ĭole Mazza, a 25-year-old bartender, had to grab his cats Dolce and Gabbana and swim to safety in the pitch black as the surge rushed into his neighborhood in Fort Myers. Augustine and Charleston, South Carolina. And as Ian moved offshore at week’s end, initial reports showed the Atlantic Ocean surging in at levels higher than 2016’s Hurricane Matthew with house-swamping levels of flooding in St. It’s the risk meteorologists have been sounding the alarm on for years - and the impact that scientists can most clearly say is made worse by climate change.įinal tallies aren’t in yet, but it’s clear Ian brought historic levels of storm surge from Key West to Naples to Fort Myers, with some spots seeing at least seven feet of water above dry land. The combination of epic storm surge along the coast and unprecedented rains inland flooded homes and caused billions of dollars in damage across a huge swath of the state. County officials have started to clear main roads to hospitals and emergency shelters.Hurricane Ian came ashore with devastating near-Category 5 winds that peeled the roofs off homes and uprooted trees.īut for most of Florida, the greatest hurricane threat was the water. "After the storm goes through, it’s all the water, the powerlines, obstructions in the road, getting out, getting emergency care," said resident Brett Fisher.Īt one point, at least 40% of Collier County was without power. "As soon as that water recedes, we have to identify what we’re up against so that we can clear the roads and let the residents come back in when it’s safe."Īs Ian treks north Wednesday night, it's still unclear what this Category 4 storm left behind. "We put the curfew in place because people want to be a part of this and find out what’s going on, which is absolutely the worst thing you can do," Heitmann said. Officials implemented a mandatory curfew Wednesday night. The record-breaking storm surge made it impossible to get to them. "It was concerning, and then it went to devastating," said Mayor Teresa Heitmann.Īt least eight people who were sightseeing and even kayaking the flooded streets had to be rescued, Heitmann said.Īt one point, first responders were blocked from responding to 157 calls. The mayor of Naples said in her 33 years of living in the city, this was the worst hurricane to hit home when it comes to the storm surge. Ian Batters Florida With Life-Threatening Storm Surge, Winds, Flooding
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