Hurricanes and hurricane scares are part of life for the millions who call Florida’s precarious paradise home. But when Hurricane Ian walloped the state this week, its brute power caught many off-guard.
See Hurricane Ian’s damage across Florida in photos, videos and maps
Flood levels
0
5
10 feet
N
More than 83,000
buildings were affected
by flooding in the western
coastline of Florida
Pine
Island
Sound
Pine
Island
Cape
Coral
Captiva
Fort
Myers
Collapsed
causeway
Sanibel
Island
Fort Myers
Beach
Estero
Island
Bonita Springs
Gulf
of Mexico
Fla.
Detail
North Naples
At least 6 feet of
storm surge flooding
was observed in
parts of Naples
Naples
5 MILES
Keewaydin
Island
Rookery
Bay
In Marco Island alone,
more than 5,000
buildings were affected
by the flood
Marco
Island
Goodland
Data as of 1 p.m. Eastern Sept. 29
Source: Analysis by ICEYE
JÚLIA LEDUR/THE WASHINGTON POST
Flood levels
0
5
10 feet
N
More than 83,000
buildings were affected
by flooding in the western
coastline of Florida
Pine
Island
Pine
Island
Sound
Damaged
bridge
Cape Coral
Fort Myers
Captiva
Collapsed
causeway
Sanibel
Island
Fort Myers
Beach
Estero
Island
Estero
Bonita Springs
Gulf
of Mexico
Fla.
Detail
North Naples
At least 6 feet of
storm surge flooding
was observed in
parts of Naples
Naples
5 MILES
Keewaydin
Island
Rookery
Bay
In Marco Island alone,
more than 5,000 buildings
were affected by the flood
Marco
Island
Goodland
Data as of 1 p.m. Eastern Sept. 29
Source: Analysis by ICEYE
JÚLIA LEDUR/THE WASHINGTON POST
Flood levels
N
Fla.
0
5
10 feet
Detail
More than 83,000 buildings
were affected by flooding
in the western coastline of Florida
Pine
Island
Damaged
bridge
Pine Island
Sound
Caloosahatchee R.
Fort
Myers
Cape Coral
Captiva
Collapsed
causeway
Punta
Rassa
Sanibel
Island
San
Carlos
Bay
Sanibel
Fort Myers
Beach
Estero
Island
Estero
Gulf
of Mexico
Bonita Springs
North Naples
Naples
At least 6 feet of storm surge
flooding was observed
in parts of Naples
5 MILES
Keewaydin
Island
Rookery
Bay
Picayune Strand
State Forest
Collier-Seminole
State Park
Marco
Island
In Marco Island alone,
more than 5,000 buildings
were affected by the flood
Goodland
Data as of 1 p.m. Eastern Sept. 29
Source: Analysis by ICEYE
JÚLIA LEDUR/THE WASHINGTON POST
Flood levels
N
Fla.
0
5
10 feet
Detail
More than 83,000 buildings
were affected by flooding
in the western coastline of Florida
Pine
Island
Damaged
bridge
Pine Island
Sound
Caloosahatchee River
Fort Myers
Cape Coral
Captiva
Collapsed
causeway
Punta
Rassa
Sanibel
Island
San Carlos
Bay
Sanibel
Fort Myers
Beach
Estero
Island
Estero
Gulf
of Mexico
Bonita Springs
North Naples
Naples
At least 6 feet of storm surge
flooding was observed
in parts of Naples
5 MILES
Keewaydin
Island
Rookery
Bay
Picayune Strand
State Forest
Collier-Seminole
State Park
Marco
Island
In Marco Island alone,
more than 5,000 buildings
were affected by the flood
Goodland
Data as of 1 p.m. Eastern Sept. 29
Source: Analysis by ICEYE
JÚLIA LEDUR/THE WASHINGTON POST
Hardest hit was the southwestern part of the state, where Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon. A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway collapsed into the sea, severing access to a once-serene island rocked by what Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) described as “biblical storm surge.” Parts of low-key tourist town Fort Myers Beach appeared to be demolished.
The death toll was yet to be determined. As of Friday, state officials said they were investigating 21 deaths, though just one had been confirmed as storm-related. After more than 700 rescues, search efforts remained underway.
Hurricane Ian’s impact, DeSantis said, is “historic.”
“You’re looking at a storm that’s changed the character of a significant part of our state,” the governor said during a Thursday briefing in Tallahassee. “This is going to require not just the emergency response now, and the days or weeks ahead; I mean, this is going to require years of effort, to be able to rebuild, to come back.”
President Biden declared it “an American crisis.”
As the storm emerged as a threat to Florida in late September, forecasts initially had it headed for the Tampa Bay area. Residents fled low-lying coastal areas under mandatory evacuation orders as the region braced for the potential of catastrophic flooding.
Raymond Oubichon, a retired entertainer from New Orleans, left his South Tampa home before sunrise Tuesday. He said he did not want to take his chances in the Tampa Bay area, even if avoiding it meant paying for an overpriced hotel room on his credit card.
“I don’t want to max it out already, but also, I don’t want to die,” Oubichon said. “So here we are.”
By later that day, though, the projected track had veered south. Ian ultimately cut through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall around 3 p.m. on the southwest Florida island of Cayo Costa.
The storm poured 10 to 20 inches on a wide stretch of the state as it carved a slow path across the peninsula. Orlando hit a 24-hour rainfall record with 12.49 inches — about twice its monthly average.
48-hour estimated rainfall
As of 3 p.m., Sept. 29
4
8
12
16
20
>24 inches
Tallahassee
Jacksonville
Gainesville
Projected
path
River gauge reporting
major flood stage
Daytona
Beach
Ocala
Gulf of
Mexico
Orlando
Tampa
St. Petersburg
Atlantic
Ocean
Sarasota
Fort Myers
Fort Lauderdale
Naples
Miami
Storm
path
50 MILES
Key West
Source: NOAA and National Weather Service
48-hour estimated rainfall
As of 3 p.m., Sept. 29
4
8
12
16
20
>24 inches
Tallahassee
Jacksonville
Projected
path
Gainesville
River gauge
reporting major
flood stage
Ocala
Orlando
Tampa
Atlantic
Ocean
St. Petersburg
Sarasota
Gulf of
Mexico
Fort Myers
Naples
Miami
Storm
path
Key West
100 MILES
Source: NOAA
48-hour estimated rainfall
As of 3 p.m., Sept. 29
4
8
12
16
20
>24
inches
Tallahassee
Jacksonville
Gainesville
Projected
path
River gauge
reporting
major
flood stage
Ocala
Orlando
Tampa
Atlantic
Ocean
St. Petersburg
Sarasota
Fort Myers
Naples
Storm
path
Miami
Gulf of Mexico
Key
West
100 MILES
Source: NOAA
In the wake of the hurricane’s tear across Florida, swaths of the state were left without power. A day after landfall, more than 2 million consumers lacked electricity.
Communities close to Ian’s furious path were almost entirely in the dark. More than 99 percent of residences and other buildings were without power in south central Florida’s rural Hardee County on Thursday. In Lee County, where the hurricane made landfall, the number was nearly 85 percent; in neighboring Charlotte County, it was 84 percent.
“Lee and Charlotte are basically off the grid at this point,” DeSantis said Thursday.
With Ian came the power outages
Jacksonville
Tallahassee
Orlando
Tampa
Storm path
Miami
Cape
Coral
Without power
0%
100%
Source: Florida Public Service Commission
Jacksonville
Tallahassee
Orlando
Tampa
Storm path
Cape
Coral
Miami
Share without power
0%
100%
Source: Florida Public Service Commission
Jacksonville
Tallahassee
Orlando
Tampa
Cape
Coral
Miami
Storm path
Share without power
0%
100%
Source: Florida Public Service Commission
DANIEL WOLFE/THE WASHINGTON POST
Jacksonville
Tallahassee
Orlando
Tampa
Cape Coral
Miami
Storm path
Share without power
0%
100%
Source: Florida Public Service Commission
DANIEL WOLFE/THE WASHINGTON POST
Crews were on their way to restore power, the governor said, but doing so will take more than “connecting a power line back to a pole.” In some areas, he said, reconnecting is likely to require rebuilding the infrastructure.
Authorities have warned that outages could drag on for days, leaving millions of people in darkness, without air-conditioning, refrigeration or reliable means of communication.
The scenes of destruction are staggering. Homes flooded to their second floors. Entire buildings reduced to heaps of rubble. Yachts launched into city streets. Sections of critical bridges and roadways torn away. Beloved local landmarks, gone.
The worst of it was in coastal southwest Florida communities such as Sanibel. The small island with 6,500 residents was severed from land when the only roadway to the island collapsed.
Cape
Coral
Fort Myers
Detail
Sanibel Island
Before Hurricane Ian
To Punta
Rassa
To Sanibel Island
Sept. 29
1,000 FEET
Cape
Coral
Fort Myers
Detail
Sanibel Island
Sept. 29
Before Hurricane Ian
To Punta
Rassa
1,000 FEET
To Sanibel Island
Cape
Coral
Fort Myers
Detail
Sanibel Island
Before Hurricane Ian
Sept. 29
To Punta
Rassa
1,000 FEET
To Sanibel Island
Just about everywhere Hurricane Ian went, it left ruin. The inland central part of the state was also deluged with water. It was waist-deep in some images out of Orlando. A hospital in Kissimmee was surrounded by so much water, it looked almost like a lake.
The National Hurricane Center called the flooding “catastrophic.”
In Naples, Bill D’Antuono emerged from his aunt and uncle’s canal-front house, where the water went above the countertops and filled the drawers, to find his hometown transformed.
The landmark Naples Pier was torn apart in some sections. Streets were flooded and almost unrecognizable. Boats were everywhere. D’Antuono’s house in the Bayshore area appeared to be flooded beyond repair.
Describing it on Thursday, D’Antuono, a 36-year-old charter boat captain, used words like “annihilated” and “worst-case scenario” and “nightmare.” And “heartbreaking.”
“Everything we knew is different now,” he said.
About this story
Satellite images are from NOAA.
Editing by Christine Armario and Kainaz Amaria. Photo editing by Natalia Jimenez. Video editing by John Farrell. Graphics editing by Tim Meko and Emily Eng. Copy editing by Phil Lueck.