West and Southwest Florida are finally clear of Hurricane Ian. Residents and rescue crew have just begun surveying the damaged areas. This storm was the most devastating in West Florida history. Bill Litton, Emergency Director, Osceola County had the following to say about the storm.
“It’s been historical. It’s been a worst-case scenario for us here in Osceola county. We’re projecting the last several days 10 to 15 inches of rain.” Litton continued, “we’re closely approaching that 14-inch mark today; but we’ve had areas of Kissimmee, parts of our unincorporated area flood that we’ve never seen before.”
As flood waters receded, Floridians cleaned up and tried to get life back to normal. Cities like Fort Myers, Naples, and Tampa got busy working on restoring power and getting aid to residents. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the storm and floods a “one in 500 year event.” As for Ian, it will continue its journey north into the Atlantic. Forecasts show that it will make landfall soon in South Carolina as a category three hurricane.
On the southeast side of Florida, Hurricane Ian did not cause flood waters, but instead torrential rains and massive wind gusts, some of which developed into tornados. Broward county’s North Perry Airport was hit with one of those tornados, flipping 17 planes and damaging 20.
