Ian

[dvcgirl67]

The biggest mystery in these terms is Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island. They had a mandatory evac ordered, but invariably there are people who stay behind. However, with the Sanibel causeway down, EMS cannot easily get teams on the ground to check. I suspect they are using drones to fly over and initially look for signs of survivors or loss of life.

Which brings me to this observation: drones are a Godsend in situations like these. So much safer and more efficient for emergency services to be able to assess ground conditions before having to go in with boots on the ground.

I have a customer who moved down to Sanibel permanently during the pandemic. I texted her a couple of days before to wish them luck in the storm. I heard from her about 30 minutes ago...she said they have no idea when they'll be able to get back on the island, but have heard that the damage is catastrophic. I can't imagine .

 

[DisneyHardin]

I have a customer who moved down to Sanibel permanently during the pandemic. I texted her a couple of days before to wish them luck in the storm. I heard from her about 30 minutes ago...she said they have no idea when they'll be able to get back on the island, but have heard that the damage is catastrophic. I can't imagine .

A friend of a good friend retired to Sanibel a couple years ago. They evacuated and are in Fort Lauderdale, but they had neighbors who were not planning to evacuate and just wait it out on the island. I can't even imagine how scary it must be to now be trapped on an island with no bridge.

 

[wallawallakids]

Sarasota Co. also has two confirmed deaths; no details on what happened.

The biggest mystery in these terms is Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island. They had a mandatory evac ordered, but invariably there are people who stay behind. However, with the Sanibel causeway down, EMS cannot easily get teams on the ground to check. I suspect they are using drones to fly over and initially look for signs of survivors or loss of life.

Which brings me to this observation: drones are a Godsend in situations like these. So much safer and more efficient for emergency services to be able to assess ground conditions before having to go in with boots on the ground.

World central kitchen is helping Sanibel. They have a helicopter bringing in food and an amphibious vehicle. They said on Twitter that the fire department is helping to distribute food. They did say a lot of people were in need of food and water there and didn’t evacuate. So sad. Shout out to WCK though. Jose Andres is amazing and honestly one of the most hardworking, kindest people out there. Thank you to all the volunteers with him as well. They all bring a humanity to a hard situation.

 

[dvcgirl67]

A friend of a good friend retired to Sanibel a couple years ago. They evacuated and are in Fort Lauderdale, but they had neighbors who were not planning to evacuate and just wait it out on the island. I can't even imagine how scary it must be to now be trapped on an island with no bridge.

It's unbelievable. I'm just catching up on a lot of the aerial footage. It will take years for this area to rebuild. I can't even begin to imagine the cost, and then the difficulty homeowners will have in finding insurance...what a nightmare.

 

[dvcgirl67]

World central kitchen is helping Sanibel. They have a helicopter bringing in food and an amphibious vehicle. They said on Twitter that the fire department is helping to distribute food. They did say a lot of people were in need of food and water there and didn’t evacuate. So sad. Shout out to WCK though. Jose Andres is amazing and honestly one of the most hardworking, kindest people out there. Thank you to all the volunteers with him as well. They all bring a humanity to a hard situation.

That's great news....Jose Andres and his WCK is an amazing organization.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I have family on Sanibel. Thankfully they were not on the island. No word regarding damage.

 

[DLgal]

It's unbelievable. I'm just catching up on a lot of the aerial footage. It will take years for this area to rebuild. I can't even begin to imagine the cost, and then the difficulty homeowners will have in finding insurance...what a nightmare.

I firmly believe people should not build homes on barrier islands. Insurance companies shouldn't insure them either. It's completely irresponsible. If you want to live on one of those, it should absolutely be done at your own risk. I feel sad for the people who lost homes, but none of them can honestly say they didn't see this coming eventually. Developing barrier islands is a greedy endeavor.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I firmly believe people should not build homes on barrier islands. Insurance companies shouldn't insure them either. It's completely irresponsible. If you want to live on one of those, it should absolutely be done at your own risk. I feel sad for the people who lost homes, but none of them can honestly say they didn't see this coming eventually. Developing barrier islands is a greedy endeavor.

Yes...I know that they are making tough choices in the Florida Keys about where to allow building...etc. I agree that it's just not sensible at this point. Or...I suppose if it's an island of homes where people pay cash for them and they take the risk to be uninsured? It's hard to imagine that though....Sanibel alone has 6,500 year-round residents. And it's not just the barrier islands...look at the beaches of Fort Meyers and Naples....just destroyed for the most part.

Also, I just read in the NYT that only 20% of the Floridians in the path of Ian have flood insurance. Fema sometimes helps out these homeowners with temporary housing and up to 40K to rebuild....which wouldn't pay for a shed in Florida right now. Florida is already in the middle of an insurance crisis....which just got a zillion times worse.

 

[Suz333]

I just heard a report that there may be significant loss of life…in the hundreds. Anyone know more on that?

The sheriff of Lee County said that to George Stephanopolus (sp?) on Good Morning America. After his statement was done (I think he also said something about thousands of homes), George asked about the 100s of fatalities, and the sheriff repeated the number.

Hopefully it was a vast overestimate. In fairness to the sheriff, it was in the morning after a night of probably zero sleep, during which time they were having to log calls and try to go out later. At some point , the entire 911 system of Lee County went down and calls had to be routed to Collier county. I can’t remember when the 911 system went down so that might be irrelevant.

(I’ve been consuming a lot of storm coverage because I have friends and family all along the west coast of Florida, plus we’re supposed to be checking in at WDW tomorrow. I frequently stay on Ft Myers beach when visiting family in the area, and it’s a gut punch to see places I know wiped away. Thankfully, my family in Lee County is okay. Now I just need them to not do anything dangerous in the aftermath.)

 

[dvcgirl67]

The sheriff of Lee County said that to George Stephanopolus (sp?) on Good Morning America. After his statement was done (I think he also said something about thousands of homes), George asked about the 100s of fatalities, and the sheriff repeated the number.

Hopefully it was a vast overestimate. In fairness to the sheriff, it was in the morning after a night of probably zero sleep, during which time they were having to log calls and try to go out later. At some point , the entire 911 system of Lee County went down and calls had to be routed to Collier county. I can’t remember when the 911 system went down so that might be irrelevant.

(I’ve been consuming a lot of storm coverage because I have friends and family all along the west coast of Florida, plus we’re supposed to be checking in at WDW tomorrow. I frequently stay on Ft Myers beach when visiting family in the area, and it’s a gut punch to see places I know wiped away. Thankfully, my family in Lee County is okay. Now I just need them to not do anything dangerous in the aftermath.)

Thank you for clearing that statement up for me! I didn't know where it originated, and hoped that it was wrong. Hope it remains so.

Glad to hear your family is ok, and think you'll be fine at WDW tomorrow .

 

[HopperFan]

Yes...I know that they are making tough choices in the Florida Keys about where to allow building...etc. I agree that it's just not sensible at this point. Or...I suppose if it's an island of homes where people pay cash for them and they take the risk to be uninsured? It's hard to imagine that though....Sanibel alone has 6,500 year-round residents. And it's not just the barrier islands...look at the beaches of Fort Meyers and Naples....just destroyed for the most part.

Also, I just read in the NYT that only 20% of the Floridians in the path of Ian have flood insurance. Fema sometimes helps out these homeowners with temporary housing and up to 40K to rebuild....which wouldn't pay for a shed in Florida right now. Florida is already in the middle of an insurance crisis....which just got a zillion times worse.

You don't have to move far from the water for flood insurance to not be required. Sadly many folks don't have the extra money for flood insurance and assume because they are far off they won't need it. Unfortunately fine print in most regular home insurance will not cover floods. We are only 200 yards off the beach and not required to have flood insurance because we sit high. We have it. We pay $800 additional to FEMA but being a condo (townhome) we are only insuring the inside. That is in addition to our regular insurance. Our community covers the outside.

Florida insurance crisis is huge and the state is doing little to assist when it is their job to do so. The storm should highlight the failure of the state to help protect residents. And it is not just high risk locations, it is companies pulling ALL their business from Florida so many of these folks live inland. Where the state needs to step in is control the rates for these people having to move to other companies. But they are being taken advantage of. Sad.

 

[JaxDad]

The sheriff of Lee County said that to George Stephanopolus (sp?) on Good Morning America. After his statement was done (I think he also said something about thousands of homes), George asked about the 100s of fatalities, and the sheriff repeated the number.

Hopefully it was a vast overestimate. In fairness to the sheriff, it was in the morning after a night of probably zero sleep, during which time they were having to log calls and try to go out later. At some point , the entire 911 system of Lee County went down and calls had to be routed to Collier county. I can’t remember when the 911 system went down so that might be irrelevant.

Unfortunately, the President also added to the confusion with his statement that this could be "the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history." Every single death is tragic, but Ian is not likely to have the estimated 2,500 deaths of the Okeechobee Hurricane in the late 1920s. That hurricane led to the construction of the Herbert Hoover Dike and major features of the complex water management system still in use today (and sadly also major degradation of the Everglades ecosystem).

 

[TLSnell1981]

I firmly believe people should not build homes on barrier islands. Insurance companies shouldn't insure them either. It's completely irresponsible. If you want to live on one of those, it should absolutely be done at your own risk. I feel sad for the people who lost homes, but none of them can honestly say they didn't see this coming eventually. Developing barrier islands is a greedy endeavor.

Maybe we should include everywhere homes are at risk for flood, fire, earthquakes, etc.?

 

[DLgal]

Maybe we should include everywhere homes are at risk for flood, fire, earthquakes, etc.?

Not the same thing at all. Well, maybe yes on the wildfires. Homes should not be built up against dry hillsides full of chaparral either. I agree with that.

Earthquakes can literally happen anywhere, though. I've lived in CA for a cumulative 26 years. The worst earthquake I experienced was when we lived in Northern Virginia for a few years between 2011 and 2015. Building codes in CA allow buildings to move with the ground during an earthquake for minimal damage. Homes and public buildings are essentially built in a way that allows them to shift and flex on their foundations. Our house has been through a couple earthquakes and nothing even fell off our shelves.

I wouldn't buy a house in a flood zone, or up against a dry hillside. But barrier islands are, by definition, unstable sandbars. They shift over time. They are literally meant to absorb the impact of tropical storms and protect the beaches of the mainland by absorbing the storm surges and acting as a, you know, BARRIER. When you raze all the natural vegetation in order to develop it, you lose all that protection and it makes the impact even worse.

 

[shoegal9]

I live in Fort Myers. We are about 9 miles inland so we don’t have storm surge but the exterior of our home is destroyed. I can’t even explain the devastation that I feel. It’s made me physically sick watching the news. I pray we can recover from this.

 

[Suz333]

I live in Fort Myers. We are about 9 miles inland so we don’t have storm surge but the exterior of our home is destroyed. I can’t even explain the devastation that I feel. It’s made me physically sick watching the news. I pray we can recover from this.

((((Hugs)))). I didn’t grow up in Ft Myers, but that’s where my dad’s family is from. I don’t know if you’re a recent citizen or someone who’s been there for a long time. The people there are very resilient and I hope everyone has enough time (and energy) to regroup and rebuild before big money comes in and buys everything up. Please be kind to yourself in the days and weeks ahead. You survived the storm, and now comes everything else.

Random question: are you familiar with the “God is love” sign on McGregor Blvd? If you you hear about its status, could you post about it? My favorite sign anywhere … even beats “Hot Donuts Now” at Krispy Kreme!

Please take care!

 

[shoegal9]

((((Hugs)))). I didn’t grow up in Ft Myers, but that’s where my dad’s family is from. I don’t know if you’re a recent citizen or someone who’s been there for a long time. The people there are very resilient and I hope everyone has enough time (and energy) to regroup and rebuild before big money comes in and buys everything up. Please be kind to yourself in the days and weeks ahead. You survived the storm, and now comes everything else.

Random question: are you familiar with the “God is love” sign on McGregor Blvd? If you you hear about its status, could you post about it? My favorite sign anywhere … even beats “Hot Donuts Now” at Krispy Kreme!

Please take care!

Thank you! My husband and I moved down last summer, but my family has been in Naples since the 80s, so it is home. We love our community so much.

I’m not familiar with that sign, but if I find out I’ll definitely let you know.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I live in Fort Myers. We are about 9 miles inland so we don’t have storm surge but the exterior of our home is destroyed. I can’t even explain the devastation that I feel. It’s made me physically sick watching the news. I pray we can recover from this.

It is devastating and depressing. Not knowing until today if my family was safe..an awful feeling . I have family and friends scattered over Florida. It was once my home. Many areas have come close to devastation but knowing what has happened to Fort Meyer, Sanibel and nearby cities...I'm sick.

Not the same thing at all. Well, maybe yes on the wildfires. Homes should not be built up against dry hillsides full of chaparral either. I agree with that.

Earthquakes can literally happen anywhere, though. I've lived in CA for a cumulative 26 years. The worst earthquake I experienced was when we lived in Northern Virginia for a few years between 2011 and 2015. Building codes in CA allow buildings to move with the ground during an earthquake for minimal damage. Homes and public buildings are essentially built in a way that allows them to shift and flex on their foundations. Our house has been through a couple earthquakes and nothing even fell off our shelves.

I wouldn't buy a house in a flood zone, or up against a dry hillside. But barrier islands are, by definition, unstable sandbars. They shift over time. They are literally meant to absorb the impact of tropical storms and protect the beaches of the mainland by absorbing the storm surges and acting as a, you know, BARRIER. When you raze all the natural vegetation in order to develop it, you lose all that protection and it makes the impact even worse.

I disagree. It's not just barrier islands that were affected. Respectfully NOW is absolutely not time or place. These areas were the center and are absolutely devastated. They missed destruction many times but not with this hurricane. I have family in South Carolina too. There are many areas that have been decimated by an act of God. To blame victims for buying coastal or island homes... just isn't right especially when many are dead, injured and/or lost everything. It's very raw for many right now.

 

[easyas123]

Respectfully NOW is absolutely not time or place.

Well put.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I disagree. It's not just barrier islands that were affected. Respectfully NOW is absolutely not time or place. These areas were the center and are absolutely devastated. They missed destruction many times but not with this hurricane. I have family in South Carolina too. There are many areas that have be by an act of God. To blame victims for buying coastal or island homes... just isn't right especially when many are dead, injured and/or lost everything. It's very raw for many right now.

The loss of life (hopefully the numbers will remain low), is awful and the images of destruction just terrible, but with all due respect, I don't think there was any blame assigned to the homeowners in Southwest Florida. I think the intention was to discuss what should happen going forward. And that discussion is off and running across the news and political spectrum. I think we just live in a world where the news/discussion moves at a lightning speed. It's a tough situation for sure though...and it will get tougher for residents of Florida.

I read this morning that their state-funded "insurer of last resort" has doubled their policy holders in just the last few years....to over 1.2 million now. They *lost* 166 million dollars last year and while they should have raided rates nearly 40%, they were only allowed to raise them by 10% as state government officials vote on that increase. That formula clearly won't cut it in a state that is Uber-prone to national disasters. They can handle one storm like this every decade, but multiple storms like this in a decade, or God forbid....multiple storms in a few years or in *one* year, and for many, homeowners insurance won't be an option they can even afford.