Hurricane Ian took over Southwestern Florida on 26th September 2022. It was a high-end category 4 storm that caused a great deal of destruction in the Caribbean before reaching Florida.
Hurricane Ian formed in the central Caribbean on 23rd September, slowly becoming a hurricane. The maximum winds recorded were 105 mph, and it fulfilled the requirements of the National Hurricane Center’s threshold as a Rapid Intensification. This meant that the storm was gaining a lot of momentum quickly. It was gaining around 35m/h in less than 24 hours. It was the strongest hurricane after Hurricane Felix, which emerged in 2007, and the strongest hurricane in Florida after Hurricane Michael in 2018.
Ian brought significant damage to the western coast of Florida. It brought intense winds, storm surges, and hefty rainfall. The storm surge had an inundation of 12 to 18 feet above ground level. The entire southern western side of Florida was poorly hit, especially the city of Fort Meyers. It was hit with a surge of 7.26 feet, a record high.
However, over the period, the hurricane weakened into a tropical storm and entered the inland, which crossed the Florida peninsula. Despite its weakened state, Ian still managed to cause great damage because of the heavy rainfall. The extreme rainfall was very destructive, and some of the areas experienced high amounts of rainfall in very little time. Lake Wales in central Florida experienced 17 inches of rain in 24 hours, and Placida had 15 inches of rain.
The storm caused a power outage for four million people in Florida. The death toll from the hurricane went all the way up to 99 on Monday, and then 4 more people died in North Carolina. Lee County had the most amounts of death as it includes areas that were hit the hardest, such as Fort Meyers, Pine Island, and Sanibel. Access to Fort Myers beach was restricted so that the authorities could easily investigate the deaths. Looting incidents also caused damage to people’s property, and four people were arrested for looting.
A boat capsized on the coastline during the hurricane, and the 16 Cuban migrants remained missing out of 27 total passengers. Nine of them were rescued by the US Coast Guard, and two more swam to safety.
If your family has suffered a lot of damage from Hurricane Ian, you can claim your insurance. You can get insurance claims for different things, such as flooding, and other damages, such as the damage to your car because of flooding. If you need anyone to help you with your hurricane claims, you can contact People Claims, and we will try our best to give you the best end of the bargain and ensure that you get all the compensation you need.
