Hurricane Ian caused severe damage in Florida in September 2022, becoming the costliest hurricane in the state's history. Ian also became the deadliest hurricane in Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.Ian is Florida's deadliest hurricane since 1935. Most victims drowned., Washington Post, October 6, 2022
Preparations Prior to Ian's landfall, Florida was predicted to receive large amounts of flooding.
On September 24, Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of Florida. Tampa Bay area schools also announced closures, and several colleges and universities, including the University of South Florida, the University of Tampa, and Eckerd College announced that they were canceling classes and closing. By September 27, 55 public school districts across the state announced cancellations, many through the end of the week. Officials at the Kennedy Space Center delayed the launch of NASA's Artemis 1, and the rocket was returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building. President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency declaration for Florida on September 24, authorizing FEMA to pre-stage 110,000 gallons of fuel and 18,000 pounds of propane, and sending 1300 workers to Florida.FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration's Preparation for Hurricane Ian, WhiteHouse.gov, September 28, 2022 Many airports and ports in Tampa, Tampa Bay, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Key West, and other places announced that they would be suspending operations. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay said that they would be closing attractions. A number of stores and restaurants like Walmart and Waffle House were closed because of the impending dangerous weather. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of multiple counties. Around 300,000 people were evacuated in Hillsborough County (which centers on Tampa) with schools and other locations being used as shelters. Before the impact school closures and mandatory evacuations were made across much of the Florida peninsula. DeSantis mobilized 5,000 Florida state national guard troops.
Another 2,000 were deployed on standby in neighboring states. Officials in Tallahassee and nearby cities commissioned the monitoring of local power lines and scouring of storm-water systems to make sure them prepared and secure. During the evacuations, intense traffic began developing on Interstate 4.
The college football game between the East Carolina Pirates and the South Florida Bulls was moved from South Florida's stadium in Tampa to Boca Raton. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League moved practices from Tampa south to the Miami Dolphins training facility in Miami Gardens.
Amtrak suspended its Auto Train service for September 27–28 and truncated the September 26 southbound Silver Star service, which was already on a modified schedule due to the suspension of the Silver Meteor service, at Jacksonville, Florida, on September 27. Silver Star service was canceled for September 27–28 with the northbound Silver Star for September 29 also canceled. Ian's updated track forecast then prompted them to suspend those services through October 1. Palmetto service was also truncated for Washington D.C., on September 30 and October 1. As Ian dissipated over the Carolinas, Amtrak modified its schedule, truncating the October 2 southbound Silver Star at Jacksonville, which would be the origin of the October 3 northbound Silver Star. Bus transportation was provided for Orlando and Tampa. Additionally, the resumption of the Silver Meteor service, which had been suspended since January 24, 2022, due to a resurgence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, was pushed back from October 3 to 11. The modified schedule and the resumption of service for the Silver Meteor was then pushed out to October 13 due to the extensive damage inflicted along the Central Florida Rail Corridor. Full resumptions of both of these services would occur over a period from October 14–17.
All three national parks in Florida closed in preparation for the hurricane.Everglades and Biscayne National Park Close in Preparation for Hurricane Ian , NPS.org, September 27, 2022Dry Tortugas National Park Closes in Preparation for Hurricane Ian , NPS.org, September 26, 2022 The Florida section of Gulf Islands National Seashore was also closed, as was the entirety of Canaveral National Seashore.Gulf Islands National Seashore closes Fort Pickens, other areas before Hurricane Ian , Pensacola News Journal, September 26, 2022Canaveral National Seashore Prepares for Hurricane Ian, NPS.gov, September 27, 2022
Impact On September 29, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, whose jurisdiction covers Cape Coral and Fort Myers, estimated that thousands of people may have still been trapped in floodwaters. President Biden said the storm could end up as the deadliest in Florida's history. In an interview on September 29, Marceno said that hundreds of deaths may have occurred, but he and Governor DeSantis later downplayed the remark.
According to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, as of February 3, 2023, 149 people were confirmed to have died across Florida as a direct result of Hurricane Ian. 72 of those deaths occurred in Lee County, and 9 occurred in neighboring Charlotte County. In the Florida Keys, seven Cuban migrants drowned when their boat capsized off Stock Island, in Monroe County, as Ian moved through; 11 others were missing. In addition, ten people died in Sarasota and Collier Counties; seven in Monroe and Volusia Counties; five in Hillsborough, Manatee, and Osceola Counties; four in Hardee County; three in Orange and Putnam Counties; two each in Hendry and Polk Counties; and one each in DeSoto, Lake, and Martin, Miami-Dade and St. Lucie Counties. Ian also caused two indirect deaths in Sarasota County, a 94-year-old man, and an 80-year-old woman, both due to disabled oxygen machines that they were using. Another from Lee County reportedly died by suicide after seeing the extent of damage done to his property after the storm.
Overall, more than 2.4 million people in Florida lost power during the storm and in its aftermath. Rainfall in Ponce Inlet, the highest in the state, was recorded at . Total damage in Florida was estimated at $109.5 billion.
South Florida and the Florida Keys
Tropical-storm-force sustained wind speeds with hurricane-force wind gusts were observed at Key West International Airport before 22:00 UTC (18:00 EDT) the same day;Hurricane Ian brings mix of destruction and some relief to Key West, ABC News, September 30, 2022 the city of Key West subsequently recorded its third-highest storm surge since 1913. Coastal flooding impacted 93 homes, with 38 experiencing substantial damage and 55 others suffering minor damage, while several cars on the south side of the Truman Annex were flooded. Residents of approximately 24 family units in that neighborhood fled their dwellings due to rising floodwaters. Additionally, a fire ignited during the storm demolished 14 business and 14 residential units. The southwest side of Stock Island reported several impassable streets and widespread flood damage to sheds and outbuildings. Similar impacts occurred on islands north of there through Big Pine Key. Almost 10,000 customers beyond the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge lost power, roughly one-third of electrical subscribers in the Lower Florida Keys. Storm surge flooding farther north briefly left some streets impassible, while winds caused isolated and sporadic power outages. Throughout the Florida Keys, the hurricane ripped about 150 vessels loose from their moorings.
Several tornadoes touched down in South Florida as the storm approached on September 27–28; 12 tornadoes touched down with all but one of them occurring in the Miami metropolitan area. One EF1 tornado severely damaged over 20 aircraft and several hangars at the North Perry Airport in Broward County; additional structures and trees were also damaged. An EF2 tornado on the night of September 27 overturned multiple cars, shattered windows, damaged several roofs, and toppled a large tree onto an apartment building at Kings Point in Palm Beach County, injuring two people. Another EF1 tornado damaged several roofs and caused some significant tree damage in Wellington and Loxahatchee. The same storm quickly produced another EF1 tornado as the first one dissipated; damage was inflicted to trees and the roofs of a stable and a house. The other tornadoes were rated EFU-EF0. Wind gusts reportedly did not exceed in the Gold Coast, but some minor wind damage was reported and power outages in the tri-county area affected 15,632 customers.
Southwest Florida
With the storm making landfall in Southwest Florida on September 28 as a strong Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph (241 km/h), the National Weather Service in Tampa issued multiple extreme wind warnings, indicating the likelihood for damage caused by sustained winds of or greater. Heavy precipitation across the region prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood emergency for portions of Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties due to accumulated rainfall of 20+ inches (508+ mm). The National Hurricane Center's advisory at 15:00 UTC warned that the "extremely dangerous eyewall of Ian" is "moving onshore." Sustained hurricane-force winds were confirmed in several places at the landfall point in Southwest Florida, including one report southeast of Cape Coral, where the location recorded a wind gust of , around the time of Ian's second landfall. A private weather station near Port Charlotte reported a sustained wind of , with a wind gust of .
The hardest-hit areas were in Lee County, where catastrophic damage occurred as Ian pushed a destructive storm surge into Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, and Bonita Springs, just south of where its eye made landfall. Meteorologists Jeff Masters and Bob Henson stated the "sea level along the southwest Florida coast is about a foot higher than it was 100 years ago, because of sea-level rise from human-caused climate change" and that the rise in sea-level could "substantially increase the storm surge damage from Ian". Combined with high winds this resulted in damage to 52,514 buildings and homes, which included minor damage to 16,314 structures, major damage to 14,245 structures, and the destruction of 5,369 others. A preliminary estimate placed building damages at $6.8 billion.
Additionally, a large portion of the Sanibel Causeway collapsed and washed away during the storm, cutting off all vehicle access to Sanibel. Vehicular access to the island was re-established on October 11 for emergency workers and public access was re-established October 21 for local residents. This cut off the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, forcing them to temporarily close.Wildlife refuges and parks hit by Hurricane Ian , Bird Watching, October 3, 2022 The hurricane damaged the Pine Island Causeway and washed out the approach to it which connected Pine Island to the mainland. A temporary bridge was opened for public use on October 5. Both the Sanibel Causeway and the Matlacha Bridge are eligible for federal bridge rehabilitation funds.