Topline
Millions of Floridians are without power and damage across the state from powerful winds and storm surges caused by Hurricane Ian has been catastrophic, according to officials, with the cities of Sanibel, Cape Coral and Fort Myers—where the Coast Guard is rescuing people from roofs—as well as other areas along the southwestern coast hit the hardest.
Boats are pushed up on a causeway after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on in Fort Myers.
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Key Facts
The southwest Florida coast where Ian made landfall on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm experienced the harshest effects from the storm, including Lee County, which covers Fort Myers and Cape Coral, which were “inundated and devastated” by Ian, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said at a press conference Thursday.
In Sanibel, meanwhile, Hurricane Ian wiped out a 50-foot section of the causeway bridge connecting the island to mainland Florida, DeSantis noted, adding “structural rebuilds,” will be necessary to fix the damages.
Ian—which weakened to a tropical storm Thursday—also brought severe damage elsewhere on the southern coast, including in Naples and Sarasota, with heavy flooding, downed trees and other damage to residents’ homes.
Central Florida experienced major flooding as well, including Orange County, Florida, which includes Orlando, spanning into northern Florida near Jacksonville, DeSantis said, calling the damages a “a 500-year flood event.”
Big Number
More than 2.5 million. That’s how many are without power in Florida after the storm.
A woman looks over her apartment after flood water inundated it in Fort Myers.
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Key Background
Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday at around 3:05 p.m. ET near Cayo Costa, an island off the coast of Fort Myers. The powerful storm hit Florida after tearing through western Cuba Tuesday, killing at least two people and leaving massive floods and millions without power. President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Florida Thursday morning to free up federal funding to assist in storm recovery. Ian weakened as it made its way through central Florida, and is now located about 40 miles east of Orlando, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
Wind gusts blow across Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on September 28, 2022.
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Tangent
New research from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health released on Thursday found that even “relatively weak” storms pose a serious flood risk to hospitals along the coast, including in Florida. Some 85% of hospitals in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area are at risk of flooding from a Category 2 storm, as well as 28.6% of hospitals in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area, according to the study, published in the journal GeoHealth, the first to systematically evaluate flooding risk to hospitals on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast from Category 1 to 4 storms, according to researchers.
Further Reading
Tropical Storm Ian pummels Florida (CNN)
Section of Sanibel Causeway wiped out by Hurricane Ian (Tampa Bay Times)
Hurricane Ian leaves trail of misery with its long, slow trip through Southwest Florida (Fort Myers News-Press)
Hurricane Ian Weakens To Tropical Storm But Nearly 2.5 Million Still Without Power (Forbes)
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