OT: Members in the path of hurricane Ian

[mtarrani]

I was fortunate enough to have suffered very little this time. By the time Ian had reached me it had diminished to a tropical storm. Still windy and a lot of rain outside, but by tomorrow at 7AM it's forecast to be all but over. I feel sorry for my neighbors in counties to the south and west. I hope all DFOers in those areas are OK.

 

[varatrodder]

This was worst case scenario. I’m hoping all our Florida members are safe and still have a home.

 

[bellbrass]

Sanibel is my favorite place to vacation, and my family used to own a home there. I was watching one of the traffic cams from the island as Ian hit. It was horrifying to see how fast 4-5 feet of water came up into the street. This might be the biggest hurricane to ever hit those barrier islands. I'm hoping the island wasn't wiped out by this thing.
As an amateur weather guy, I monitored the reports and measurements, and was amazed at how quickly Ian intensified and how strong it actually was when it made landfall. I think we are all going to be shocked when photos and video begin coming out from Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, and Ft. Myers Beach. I expect widespread destruction to be the case. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[drummertom]

Sanibel is my favorite place to vacation, and my family used to own a home there. I was watching one of the traffic cams from the island as Ian hit. It was horrifying to see how fast 4-5 feet of water came up into the street. This might be the biggest hurricane to ever hit those barrier islands. I'm hoping the island wasn't wiped out by this thing.
As an amateur weather guy, I monitored the reports and measurements, and was amazed at how quickly Ian intensified and how strong it actually was when it made landfall. I think we are all going to be shocked when photos and video begin coming out from Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, and Ft. Myers Beach. I expect widespread destruction to be the case. I hope I'm wrong.

Part of the causeway to Sanibel was washed away. Now isolated.

 

[drawtheline55]

I heard it was the 4th or 5th worst hurricane in Florida history, I can tell you one thing
Hurricanes make a blizzard look like a walk in the park.
Prayers sent to those who got hit....and its alot.

 

[bellbrass]

Part of the causeway to Sanibel was washed away. Now isolated.

I saw that this morning - incredible that the force of the storm moved a section of causeway into the Gulf of Mexico that was over 10 feet in thickness.

 

[flatwins]

Young Ryan Blaney is from my town.

Is he related to Dave Blaney as in the guy who used to run World of Outlaws sprint cars? Ima dirt guy…

 

[underratedcowbell]

Hope everyone hit by Ian is alright.
One thing I can’t understand! Why you guys in states that are constantly hit by hurricanes are still building these houses with timber frames and roof tile shingles, wood shingles, metal shingles and asphalt shingles that look and apparently are so flimsy? Why not build houses with precast concrete framing and with roof tiles or bolted sandwich panels over a proper concrete slab?

 

[mtarrani]

Hope everyone hit by Ian is alright.
One thing I can’t understand! Why you guys in states that are constantly hit by hurricanes are still building these houses with timber frames and roof tile shingles, wood shingles, metal shingles and asphalt shingles that look and apparently are so flimsy? Why not build houses with precast concrete framing and with roof tiles or bolted sandwich panels over a proper concrete slab?

I cannot speak for all houses in FL, but mine and most in my area are built out of cinderblock.

 

[underratedcowbell]

I cannot speak for all houses in FL, but mine and most in my area are built out of cinderblock.

Well, cinderblock is perfectly fine! That should take a hit without much stress!
When I was in New Orleans a couple of years ago, right after Katrina, I was gobsmacked to see so many houses in a hurricane area built entirely of timber. The same thing for San Francisco, a known seismic area with active faulting all over the place and the houses looked like wooden shacks!

 

[mtarrani]

Well, cinderblock is perfectly fine! That should take a hit without much stress!
When I was in New Orleans a couple of years ago, right after Katrina, I was gobsmacked to see so many houses in a hurricane area built entirely of timber. The same thing for San Francisco, a known seismic area with active faulting all over the place and the houses looked like wooden shacks!

I am sure you can also find wood houses in FL - probably in the cracker part dead center off I-75, but even my late wife's home that was built in the 1950s was block. All of the new construction conforms to fairly rigid standards. As for NOLA and SF, I am sure the older houses with an historic background were preserved as is. I know that in SF anything new has some rigid standards imposed. In fact, all of CA does.

 

[bellbrass]

I've been looking at aerial shots of Ft. Myers Beach, Punta Gorda, and Naples. Many of the homes near the water there were built using high-grade construction, and have survived the wind damage, although many are flooded. However, there are older structures - homes, mostly, and a few businesses - that have been around for a long time. Those older structures that were built mostly of wood, that were within 1/4 mile of the water, are now gone. Many of the photos I've seen look more like tornado damage than typical late-season hurricane damage.
A friend of mine told me that Sanibel was evacuated, to the point of going home-to-home and telling people to leave. The island is supposed to be completely evacuated. My friend told me that anyone left on the island will have to be ferried out until the island officially reopens for residency. I asked him how long that might be, and he told me that since other sections of the causeway were also destroyed, so it could be months. My heart goes out to SW Florida residents.

 

[Vistalite Black]

Is he related to Dave Blaney as in the guy who used to run World of Outlaws sprint cars? Ima dirt guy…

Son of Dave … Part of Dave’s NASCAR was with Bill Davis Racing — formerly located here in central NC.

 

[JimmyM]

It really sucks what happened to many but we were fortunate mostly in east central. We lost power for 18 hours but it’s back on, except for my microwave. That sucks but I’m hoping it was a fuse.

 

[varatrodder]

Anyone from GA, SC or NC in the path of the second landfall?

 

[repete]

Is there anyone in the Venice area? My wife’s nephew came over to our place on the east side to ride this out. His neighborhood has power but besides that, they don’t know what they’ll be facing when they return.

 

[blueshadow]

Had weather channel on most of the day. They were saying many had upgraded to code after Charlie and seemed so far less damage than expected. Very sorry to hear about loss of life. Everything else can be replaced

 

[DanRH]

Our place was at the southern end of Estero Island which is Ft Myers Beach. We just can't process how bad this was. We have yet to hear of friends at the building. We sold in 2021. We fear it is no longer there. The mayor has indicated the area is 90% gone. Here's a pic from 2017. Our place was on the third floor.

 

[Matched Gripper]

For those that don’t remember Hurricane Andrew in 1992, during the storm, the National Hurricane Center was reporting sustained winds of 200 mph and gusts of 225, before the roof of the NHC and its radar was blown off. It was a small, fast moving, dry hurricane. Imagine an F3 tornado 100 miles across. (Even more powerful than Andrew was Hurricane Camille that hit Louisiana and Mississippi in 1969). At that time, it was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history, IIRC. Entire communities were flattened into rubble and matchsticks. Neighborhoods were unrecognizable because ALL of the foliage, street signs and other landmarks were flattened.

I remember driving across Aligator Ally from east to west and seeing one of those large green highway signs with the huge galvanized “H” beams literally bent over backwards and facing the other direction. Considering the widespread destruction, it’s remarkable that there were only 65 deaths. The already strict building code was updated after the storm. Here are some pictures from after the storm:

 

[Matched Gripper]

For those that don’t remember Hurricane Andrew in 1992, during the storm, the National Hurricane Center was reporting sustained winds of 200 mph and gusts of 225, before the roof of the NHC and its radar was blown off. It was a small, fast moving, dry hurricane. Imagine an F3 tornado 100 miles across. It was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history, IIRC. Entire communities were flattened into rubble and matchsticks. Neighborhoods were unrecognizable because ALL of the foliage, street signs and other landmarks were flattened. I remember driving across Aligator Ally from east to west and seeing one of those large green highway signs with the huge galvanized “H” beams literally bent over backwards and facing the other direction. The already strict building code was updated after the storm. Here are some pictures from after the storm:

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Hurricane Andrew pics continued: