Hurricane Ian barreled ashore in southwest Florida Wednesday with a massive and deadly surge of water and catastrophic winds that are poised to make it one of the costliest storms in US history.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall west of Fort Myers near Cayo Costa shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday local time. Nearly all of Florida, home to 21 million people, braced for widespread blackouts and floods. More than 2 million people have been ordered or urged to flee. The storm is expected to cause more than $67 billion in damages and losses and global shipping is already diverting from its path. Florida's Tourism Economy alone could take $7 Billion hurricane hit
“This is going to be a tragic event,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during a briefing as the storm neared shore. “It’s something that is going to be there for days, weeks, months and unfortunately in some circumstances even years.”
A storm of this magnitude is a severe test for Florida’s infrastructure due to its low-lying and densely populated coastal areas that are prone to flooding. It comes as climate change has fueled extreme weather worldwide this year, including deadly flooding in Kentucky and Pakistan, a European heat wave that killed more than 2,000 people in Portugal and Spain, and relentless drought in the US west.
Storm Stats:
- Ian Forecast to Emerge Over Atlantic Waters (2 a.m. Thursday)
The storm is about 55 miles (89 kilometers) south-southeast of Orlando and is forecast to move across central Florida and emerge over the Atlantic Ocean later Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. Winds are about 75 miles per hour, down from a peak of 150 mph earlier. About 2.3 million homes and business are without power.
- Storm Weakens to Category 1 Hurricane (11 p.m. Wednesday)
Ian’s wind speeds fell to 90 mph at 11 p.m., meaning it’s now a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the National Hurricane Center.
- 2.4 Million Customers Without Power in Florida (10 p.m.)
More than 2 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida late Wednesday even as Hurricane Ian’s winds continued to calm, according to PowerOutage.us.
The storm, now a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, was about 80 miles south of Orlando at 10 p.m. local time. The winds had weakened to 100 mph from a peak of 150 earlier, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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| Crews Like this one near The Villages are ready to restore power |
The economic ripples radiate far beyond the storm’s path. As the US and the state begin shifting to storm response and then recovery,
Bloomberg notes some of the threats to monitor.
Hurricanes push water in front of them as they move over the ocean. This is known as “storm surge,” which can cause significant coastal destruction. Low-lying geography and the shallow continental shelf in parts of western Florida make it particularly vulnerable. Ian’s projected storm surge of 12 feet (4 meters) to 18 feet could send seawater far inland.
The surge and winds Ian bring ashore will deliver a devastating blow to the cities and towns along the coast. But the heavy rains it wrings out across Florida and into Georgia, South Carolina and beyond will spread the misery — and the damages. Case in point: Walt Disney World, in the Orlando area of central Florida, issued a shelter-in-place order for hotel guests despite being about 140 miles from where the storm made landfall.
More than 2 feet of rain may fall across central Florida. The National Weather Service warns there could be record-breaking flooding on rivers throughout the state. In the next seven days flooding rain could fall from Florida to southern New Jersey and throughout the Appalachian Mountains, according to the US Weather Prediction Center.
➤The Sunshine State Could Go Dark for DaysCategory 4 storms wreak such damage on power grids — such as snapping poles — that the National Hurricane Center says blackouts can last weeks or even months. Florida Power & Light, the state’s biggest electric utility, told customers to brace for “widespread outages” from Ian and cautioned they could linger for days. The NextEra Energy Inc. utility spent billions of dollars fortifying its system after a rash of hurricanes struck the state more than a decade ago, but now faces the prospect of having to rebuild parts of it. More than 30,000 utility workers from 26 states were mobilized to help restore power once the storm passes, according to the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group. But doing so will require access to equipment and communities that may be cut off by flooding or downed trees.
➤Out of GasMany Florida fuel terminals are shut, while high winds and flooding make truck deliveries impossible in many areas. Fuel distributors in the state are warning of lengthy wait times to resupply businesses and homes with diesel for generators. Prolonged disruption in waterborne transportation could risk the state's supply of fuel — 90% of which comes on barges into 4 ports.
➤Breakfast Getting Even More ExpensiveOrange juice futures soared as Ian neared the Florida shore. And if crop damage of Florida’s famed crop is as extensive as feared — potentially 90% of its citrus belt, according to Maxar — it will further worsen food inflation plaguing consumers.
➤Risk of Chemical Spills and Dead FishFlorida produces much of the US’s phosphate fertilizer, in a process that yields a radioactive and toxic byproduct called phosphogypsum, which is stored in stacks — or big mounds. Last year, one of them suffered a catastrophic failure due to heavy rain, causing a red tide that killed about 1,800 pounds (816 kilograms) of sea life and forced evacuations in nearby towns. Environmental experts fear a potential repeat with Ian, whose path may approach where Mosaic has the bulk of its phosphate facilities. A spokesperson for the company said it has made improvements to its facilities to help prevent any such issues, including “a more comprehensive internal dike system.”
➤Good Luck Getting InsuranceFlorida’s insurance market was already chaotic before Ian. But the storm arrives in the wake of six insolvencies among insurers that write homeowner policies in the state. The largest insurers had pulled back from the market after previous natural disasters, while smaller firms still active there have struggled to endure losses.
Flood damages aren’t generally covered in home policies. Instead, they fall under policies managed by the U-S Federal Emergency Management Agency.
