Sanibel & Surroundings, 12/24~02/25
“I’ve been to almost as many places as my luggage.”
Highlight: First time staying on Sanibel since hurricane Ian hit the island and destroyed our little paradise.
Hurricane Ian was a devastating tropical cyclone which was the third costliest weather disaster on record worldwide. It was also the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Michael in 2018.
Cheers in Naples
Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba, Florida, and the Carolinas. Ian was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, and was the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since Lorenzo in 2019.
Ian thrashed parts of Florida’s western coast, bringing intense winds, heavy rainfall, and catastrophic storm surges. A storm surge with inundation of an unprecedented 12 to 18 feet above ground level was reported along the southwestern Florida coast, and the city of Fort Myers itself was hit particularly hard with a 7.26 foot surge—a record high.
Two years after Category 4 Hurricane Ian slammed Sanibel with a 13-foot storm surge, the beach, the sea shells, the birds and wildlife — all the natural stuff — was back. But the things that people built were still a work in progress.
Then came Hurricanes Helene on Sept. 26 and Milton on Oct. 9, 2024. Hurricane Milton brought a much smaller storm surge than Ian — 5 feet versus about 8 to 15 feet of storm surge with Ian — but it slowed the return to normal.
