What we learned from Hurricane Ian

mergency experts provide tips for navigating orders during hurricane season

Type “Hurricane Ian” into a search bar, and it’ll show obvious devastation: a timelapse of Fort Myers flooding, boats flung from one neighborhood to another, strong tree branches snapping like twigs.

Ask a local about it, and they’ll likely shudder at the memories of living through such devastation. It wasn’t just a street underwater; it was the sidewalk they strolled to catch the first glimpse of sunlight at the dawn of a new day. It wasn’t a boat that’d crashed into a building; it was someone’s vessel to connect to the world via the coast. It wasn’t a palm tree that vanished underwater; it was a shady spot to read a book on a picturesque Florida day.

The 150 Florida fatalities weren’t a sum of deaths the storm collected. They were someone’s mother, father, grandparent, daughter, son, or friend.

It’s valid for the community to feel complex emotions over a lack of preparedness. Had they known how different that hurricane would be, perhaps they could have fled the region sooner or boarded up their home better. Made that call to a loved one, insisting they seek shelter now.

The September 2022 storm showed ways the region needed to be equipped to handle such intensity, such as emphasis on giving and following timely emergency orders, structural vulnerabilities, lack of shelter accessibilities, and delayed response efforts.

As Southwest Florida enters another season of tropical storms, emergency officials are providing us with ways residents can feel more prepared and aware of what could come.

Understand storm surge

Storm surge posed a particularly deadly threat during Hurricane Ian to which the region wasn’t accustomed. 

“We had gone almost over a decade without a significant storm surge in our heavily populated area,” says Dan Summers, director of emergency services at Collier County government. “Storm surge is a dramatically different event.”

Storm surge, or the abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, can be fast and forceful, wreaking havoc on buildings and infrastructure in its path. It can occur without warning as a storm rapidly approaches the coastline, and floodwaters prolong damage after the hurricane passes.

The National Hurricane Center is debuting an experimental forecast cone in August, emphasizing watches and warnings so the public can pay attention to the most crucial signals.

“We don’t want you to deny the watches and warnings, specifically when the storm surge warnings are becoming so evident,” Summers says.

Know your evacuation zone

“Most importantly, know your evacuation zone,” Summers says. Also, check your home’s elevation; don’t wait until a catastrophe looms to determine it.

In Florida, evacuation zones are typically determined by vulnerability to storm surge. In Lee County, residents in Zone A can be evacuated for storm surge before seeing the effects of the tropical storm, according to the Lee County Government website, which lets you search for your zone directly. It’s essential to heed the warnings as they come.

“When storm surge warnings come out, it’s the real deal,” Summers says. So, residents must already know where to go if needed. “The public is our partner in this.”

Check warnings often

“During an activation, every six hours, our staff at Lee County Emergency Operation Center receive a National Weather Service forecast, and staff adjusts its emergency preparedness activities and communications accordingly based on those forecasted cycles,” says Lee County Public Safety Director Benjamin Abes. Lee County staff also confers with the Florida Division of Emergency Management and works with local public safety partners to relay details to the public.

Summers said Southwest Florida residents should check weather information at least every four hours. “It’s something you want to continuously monitor.”

Plan for everything early

Long before you have to hit the road, search for your nearest hurricane shelter, arrange to stay with friends, or make lodging plans, and go wherever you need to before nightfall, Summers said.

“Do it during daylight hours. You’ve got to allow time to travel, and you’ve got to allow time for heavy traffic, and you want to be in a safe spot for the night,” Summers says.

The final destination doesn’t have to be too far.

“So many people like to try to get out of the state, but that is a mistake,” says John Cangialosi, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center. “Typically, you just have to leave the evacuation zone area—that’s it.”

Go over hurricane preparedness information on county websites, and invite others to do the same.

“Consider scheduling a community event to watch the materials with neighbors,” Abes says. 

Plan for your family’s unique needs. For instance, Collier County’s special needs shelter registry is for people with medical conditions that require more assistance and medical monitoring than a general-population shelter can provide. Registrations must be updated annually. (More special needs shelter information is available at floridahealth.gov and county websites.)

“Consider making a family plan with a supply list, all your insurance information, and where you will go under all different scenarios, so when it’s go time, you can just book it,” Cangialosi says. “Hurricanes could be a lot less emotional if we just kind of figure this out ahead of time.”