I’ve been sharing some of the challenges with site admins; at their suggestion here’s the latest from the impact zone.
First things first. To establish the context, what made Ian completely different from all other hurricane recovery responses I have been involved in comes down to two issues: strength of the storm (155+ mph winds), and more importantly the duration of the event (8+ hours of peak destruction).
In normal hurricane impacts the worst affected areas generally experience 3 to 4 hours of chaos. Hurricane Ian was unique in that it was only moving 8 to 10 mph and that made the storm damage completely different. Structures that survived the first half, completely failed during the second half of the storm.
Almost nothing survived unscathed after 8 to 9 hours of that strength of storm sitting, almost stationary, in one place; nor was anything ever designed to withstand that duration of storm with winds from the South, then East, then West as Ian meandered inland from the gulf toward the north northeast.
After this storm, and having been through four previous direct impacts, including Homestead AFB, I would say this…. If there is even a remote chance you would ever encounter this type of a hurricane event, EVACUATE. Do not try and hunker down if there is a looming possibility of having to rely on a structure to withstand 150+ mph wind for a full day. Just leave. With all of my preparations in place, and all of the knowledge I possess in storm survival, I would never attempt that again.
That said, I will put a better word image together at a later date to share, along with specific recommendations learned as an outcome of this event. In the interim, just accept my most strenuous advice. If this specific type of storm was ever predicted to come near you, GET OUT.
♦CURRENT STATUS – Electricity and water restoration efforts continue as we near the one-month anniversary 10/28. Thankfully, both services have been restored for me personally, and I carry deep empathy -and my most sincere prayers- for those still waiting.
Regarding stable -if any- internet service, it remains elusive for everyone.
The biggest impacts upon the outer islands of Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island/Matlacha are still in first stage recovery efforts. Completely new civil infrastructure is being built in these areas.
♦DEBRIS – The scale of physical debris is jaw dropping. FEMA reimburses local municipalities for the first 30 days of debris removal effort and costs. The 30-day limit is intended as a financial incentive to kick municipalities into fast action. This incentive is not a bad concept. Factually, it’s one of the better FEMA legislative standards because it forces local government to act quickly. However, the scale of what they are trying to do is just intense.
The various municipal governments in the severe impact zones appear to have a strategy to use the 30-day window to just collect as much as possible in interim geographic locations. Large empty lots are being utilized as fast dumps for massive piles of debris in this 30-day window. A claw truck can make a dozen fast runs (per day) locally to these interim dump sites, as opposed to driving long distances to landfills 30 to 50 miles away.
One of these 10-acre dump sites is less than a mile from me. I do not know how many of these exist; however, to see a full ten acres piled high with 10 to 20′ of debris gives me a sense of the scale of damage in this one small area within a region that must have hundreds of these interim sites. I have been to a dozen post-hurricane recovery areas and never seen debris like this.
Everything from destroyed construction material, to home furnishings, beds, appliances, parts of boats, roof parts, toys, patio furniture, pieces of cars, clothing, you name it, it’s all there. All now defined under the term “debris.” However, each piece of debris representing the former life of a family impacted by this storm. The trucks just keep coming, day and night 24/7.
In the bigger picture, when you think about what is represented, it’s a sullen site to bear witness to… Any person of reasonable Christian disposition would just cry. They have fenced off these interim dumping sites, and they have erected lights and temporary crane towers to seemingly assist the logistics of what goes where, but my God the scale of it is humbling. This is just one site utilized for an area of what seems to be approximately 5 square miles. Expand that scale to hundreds of similar 10-acre sites. Yeah, tears.
Eventually I assume these interim sites will be cleared one truckload at a time to the inner state landfills and recycle facilities. That phase will likely take years.
~ An ordinary neighborhood street awaiting pickup ~
♦PEOPLE – Thousands of people have been displaced. To give a context for the longer-term issue let me tell you a few stories.
In the past several weeks I have visited a number of businesses like Home Depot (hardware etc) and industrial repair shops. These places are packed with working-class people attempting to patch life back together. My best guess is you could put between 10,000 and 50,000 skilled construction workers and general laborers into the impact zone, and they would have continuous work for a year or more.
That said, businesses are failing because just as many people have given up and quit as the number that are trying to rebuild.
Most of the service workers involved in the hotel, restaurant and tourist industry on/near the SWFL beaches are out of work. The physical buildings are gone or heavily damaged and closed. Those ordinarily invisible workers are just picking up what may have remained and leaving; because they have no work, and everyone needs a paycheck. Consider this vulnerable population #1.
Additionally, thousands of people who work regular jobs, including retail and hospitality, have been wiped out or heavily impacted at a personal level. Whether it be due to direct loss of their homes, housing rentals, vehicles or belongings, or just stress amid the rubble, they too are leaving. Without those workers businesses are unable to operate and are modifying operations or folding completely.
This subsequent worker shortage puts more pressure on the small to medium businesses and employees that remain….. In turn that creates longer shifts and even more stress on the remaining employees. The result is a cascading impact upon every business from supermarkets to McDonalds, to convenience stores, to garages and mechanics, to just about everything including hospitals and elder care facilities.
♦SELF SUFFICIENCY – If you cannot fix it yourself, life is even more difficult.
An odd aspect I note is the destruction on garages, light industrial facilities and auto repair shops. Numerous places are closed for repairs as the exterior big garage bay doors (doors on the physical buildings of these places) failed, creating damage internally to the facility and equipment. If you need a vehicle lift or specialized light to medium industrial equipment repair, you have to travel inland, quite a considerable distance, looking for an open location.
Open hotels for 50+ miles are full of relief and recovery workers and still hundreds more rooms or temporary housing are/is needed for those who travelled to help. I talked with one six-man recovery crew who are housed at a hotel in Tampa and drive to Pine Island. That’s a minimum 4 to 5-hour round trip. Drive 2 hours, work 10, drive 2 hours back, eat/sleep, repeat.
Out of state recovery crews (for just about anything you can imagine) are generally doing two to four-week stints, then they are replaced -take a week off- then return. SWFL locals take every opportunity to thank them, but no one knows how long this level of assistance will remain available.
It sounds like I’m painting a pretty bleak picture, but that’s the reality of recovery life in an impact zone like this. It’s also why I don’t like writing about it. However, amid all of the stress and chaos there are incredible people who will give the shirt off their back to a stranger. Focusing on this aspect is what fuels the soul daily.
Exiting a 7-11 I ran into Dionne, his wife and 3 kids, including a 6-month-old.
Dionne originally from Indiana, like a bazillion other working-class folks, had a flat tire (roofing nail) and was desperate to get to WalMart for baby formula and diapers. As he explained the situation, I gave him my keys and said, “just go, I’ve got the tire.” By the time he came back both problems were solved. Dionne had the stuff for the baby, and a bunch of strangers – who were also just passersby overhearing the problem – stopped everything, chipped in and the tire was repaired and replaced.
Hurricane Ian certainly brought a mess, but the storm also brought buckets of ordinary opportunities to meet random strangers – reminding us constantly at our spiritual core there are overwhelming numbers of fundamentally good people that non-crisis life would have us miss.
I am intensely thankful for those moments a loving God is providing. Without Ian those moments may not exist, and each of them is an opportunity for an affirmation.
Now, to be sure, there are self-centered affluent knuckleheads in post hurricane life; but I can also tell you something with a spiritual certainty…
…..Those knuckleheads don’t shop at 7-11’s near me.
Love to all,
~ Sundance
What an inspiration you are within a horrible situation, Sundance! It certainly sifts the good from the bad, the makers from the takers
The magnitude of the need varies – but the response of ordinary Americans to real need of other ordinary people is always the same. How can I help.
It is one if the real attributes that has made American exceptional.
As the wise man said – when in doubt about an emergency coming your way: Get out.
Friends that have dwellings in the areas affected have
been very busy there. Contractors friends signing contracts daily and
managing crews to git’r done.
You are correct Sundance, just yesterday saw a truck with three
flat tire plugs on three tires, not to mention tires that flats not
able to fix due to tire sidewall punctures/rips. Also might be problems
with local fuel there, not sure, but friends trucks sputtering; maybe water
in the fuel?
Adviced some to get OZONE Generators. They remediate mold and
mildew, plus take the stink from such growth. plus more…
Can range in price starting from 75 bucks and up.
Good update – Thank you.
Baby Steps…
“When The Going Gets Tough – The Tough Get Going”
After riding out Hugo in 1989, I can heartily agree with your advice…In a Cat 4…GET THE HELL OUT!
Many places were changed for ever.
They finally removed the rotted remains of that shrimp boat by Rt 17…twelve miles from the ocean.
The piles of trash and debris will be removed, eventually.
There is something you have left out of your aftermath saga…THE SMELL!
It’s hard to describe but hard to forget?
You get used to it and it will go away too.
The rebuild will look very different than what was before Ian.
With some good planning, it could be better?
Good luck with your “adventure”!
I survived Hugo as well. Lost everything. Spent 2 weeks on the end of a chainsaw helping others on Wadmalaw Island get out of their homes and properties. Drove my pickup to Augusta every night and came back early in the morning with a bed full of gallon water jugs. Gave them to the Red Cross who was set up at the island in road. Picked up empties in the evening. It was a long haul to get over it all and we saw examples of kindness every day.
Sundance,
I don’t know anyone or anything about the details of the debris collection efforts in SWFL up close and personal. I worked in Houston for a time after Harvey.
Part of the clean-up effort in Houston was that the debris was to be sorted into 4 or 5 piles. One for wooden furniture and cabinetry, one for appliances, etc.
If the authorities could have the appliances and other metals segregated or if they would announce that “picking” would be legal and encouraged, they might be able to entice debris removal companies to remove the metal for resale into the scrap metal stream. This would recycle valuable assets and take some of the burden off the landfills. It might be a good talking point when the NIMBY objections to additional landfills commence.
Failing that, the authorities could contract with metal recyclers to bring in their crane lifted magnets to pick the ferrous metals out of the piles at the debris staging locations.
Might be happening already. I thought this might help and you might want to pass this along.
I hope this might be useful.
Great ideas. thanks!
Sarasota County actually asked the residents to do as you wrote. The scrappers did a great job collecting all the aluminum and metal. What was left of my shed was picked up by a scrapper within 20 minutes of me getting it to the curb.
The county here is contracted with Waste Management, we get twice a week trash, once a week recycle, and once a week yard waste in cans or small pile.
The larger piles of yard debris is removed with a claw truck usually weekly also, there have been no large piles removed since the storm.
Had a hunch WM moved them to west coast for 2 reasons, one is to assist the area, other is the $$$ and where it comes from.
Will have to talk to friend that is county commissioner to find out the story.
Another issue that ALWAYS arises is before a storm is predicted to hit an area home owners think that is the time to trim trees and put it to the road, this gives the crews zero time to remove it before the storm and also makes efforts afterward even worse.
Thank you. When all other Media seems to have forgotten the destruction and the human costs, sundance informs.
One of your best reports. Keep us informed, please. I live in West Palm Beach and it is as if there never was a storm.
Remind us. Real people were hurt.
Thanks Sundance for keeping us informed when the so called ‘media’ have forgotten Ian and the devastation it wrecked on so many. And in the midst of it, you find a positive ray of hope.
Thank you.
Love and many prayers,
Lou
We had the claw pick up at 7:15 pm last Friday night. Our behind neighbors were picked up at 7:00 AM Saturday morning. Our son 10 blocks west of us has not seen the claw. Our office is on a main roadway and we see the double trucks at least ten times going back and forth. Be patient, they will come. As far as WM, we have been blessed with the greatest crews. They really appreciate a Gatorade or water bottle…even honk for the grandkids. I can still hear that wind. Thankfully, the huge crack sound in the middle of the night was not a tree falling down. It was only a huge branch that took hours to chop up and drag to the street. We will never stay for another big storm. Thanks for your writings, Sundance. I am looking forward to the pre-storm list. Although I can’t remember her name, I loved the story about the older woman. Must be the beginnings of a book throughout this adventure. Blessings to you!
Great and cogent advice, Sundance,… “Get Out, if it’s a Cat 4-5.” Leave early, don’t risk your and your family’s lives.
Having survived the brunt of H. Camille in ’69 in a 1850’s large house at ’25’ elevation and on the water in Pascagoula, MS,…. that’s also been my advice, ever since. Katrina was a mere Cat 3 blow by comparison in Gulfport, MS in ’05.
Very few structures can withstand a 25′ storm surge and winds of over 200 mph, even for a short duration.
He is not abandoning his state! He is adding all other states to his fight for freedom and justice. Stop being selfish Florida! I am a trump follower but welcome anyone who’s standards and beliefs align with Trump’s.
we will all benefit from any alignment with true freedom fighters! IF THE EVIL POWERS THAT BE NEUTRALIZE TRUMP, DeSANTIS is a more than worthy opponent of the evil that plagues America. As for me, I’m glad he is there as a back-up.
Sorry for the typos. I’m a 76 year old tired from still working to combat the engineered destruction of the middle class and America as a whole. Please accept leaders who share our concerns. I’m quite sure that Trump views De Santis as a team-mate in our fight. Teamwork has always been the key to success.
Sometimes when I look back at my life, I can see that my greatest blessings were the hardships along the way.
They harden your purpose.
Charlotte County is about to greenlight RV’s and other types of housing on lots inside the county for up to two years.
The saying remains true: you flee from water and you hide from the wind. Once again, drowning is the leading cause of deaths. You can not outrun the wind of a hurricane on a peninsula around 100 miles wide. It is simply not feasible.
If the winds of Ian now make you believe you can escape the wind field of a hurricane, do not remain in Florida.
While I do not have data on the strength or time length my structure was impacted, judging from the data from the airports in Sarasota and Punta Gorda, it appears to me it was the duration of Ian that was more punishing than the strength of Ian.
I don’t believe the windspeed exceeded 100 mph for any significant period of time, but wind north of 70 mph for an extended period of time between 5 PM and 7 PM was likely.
My home was reroofed in 1995 and is built up and suffered minimal damage facing due north. My plywood shutters were fine except for the one ripped from in front of my front door that is still swollen shut.
While the wind is frightening for a period of time, if you are in a sound structure, the real risk is flooding and drowning.
It is less than clear to me that Fort Myers Beach can be rebuilt owing to the storm surge. Does anyone believe six square miles will be raised ten feet?
My pocket of poverty, as my Dad would say, is in the upper left quadrant of the affected area. My base elevation is 16′ and while I did not flood nor was impacted by storm surge, many homes in the area did flood from rain and runoff.
There is going to be a consolidation of real estate along the cost affected by storm surge and it will be years before some of these areas are ever rebuilt if ever.
I do not think I could ever give my keys to a stranger – remarkable faith that Sundance possesses.
The media in the area (WINK) just reported a word of caution to anyone “repairing or rebuilding” their property. There is a 50% rule that if it costs 50% or more of the market value then you must build according to the flood regs which means the structure must be constructed outside or above the flood zone.
This cost could include a one year lookback depending on the county.
Well, thanks for all you do Sundance! You are one of the few sources for accurate information on so many topics!
As for those who live in hurricane prone areas, the genius, Buckminster Fuller, encouraged the construction of geodesic domes which are composed of triangular support structures throughout the building … triangles being one of the strongest methods of building. The shape of a geodesic dome allows for the winds to pass over the structure and offers the least resistance to the winds.
I believe that if all the structures/buildings were built with geodesic dome design, most of them would have survived. In addition, those prone to flooding could be placed on concrete piles/posts that were dug several feet down into a solid subsurface footing.
For those interested in saving trillions of dollars in cooling costs, the homes would be constructed with glass facing north (as well as NE and NW) but closed off to the South, blocking the strongest sunlight and reducing the heating effect of the Sun. An outer shell wall surrounding an inner wall about 2 feet in between the two would provide great insulating effect and reduce the heat transferred into the inner living space.
For those who are interested in saving trillions of dollars in heating costs, the homes would be passive solar built with an outer layer/wall, with an inner layer wall about 2 feet in between the two, glass facing southerly as well as SW and SE, closed off on the north (for Northern climates). .
Unfortunately, those who build homes are unintelligent, rigid, and unwilling to build structures that would have a much, much greater probability of surviving hurricane strength winds.
And tapping the energy contained in the wave action of the oceans (yes, they could do something if they really wished to solve the energy crisis) with a form of water turbine would provide all the energy that the people needed. If they had the will to solve the problems rather than squeeze the people for profit and keep them forever enslaved to those corporate elitist interests that provide fuel for industry and commerce.
People can say, “it wouldn’t work,” but dome shapes have been used for many tens of thousands of years (or more) very successfully and they weren’t so dumb. These structures work. Igloos survive fierce winds in the coldest of climates, for example. Passive solar with a double wall building structure is well-documented to be one of the most efficient methods of not only collecting solar energy, but insulating buildings.
I have seen one home in my area that is geodesic designed. I have not been by it in quite a while. Dunno if it flooded or not, which ultimately determines survival.
Geodesic domes have some very attractive characteristics, but they also have some serious drawbacks.
I’m sorry for raining on your dome. I used to love the idea of domes, but their reality has changed my mind.
Thank you so much for the update, Sundance. I am so humbled to have found the Conservative Tree House community! Your attitude and writings mean so much to so many of us.
The photograph posted reminds me of the “cleared” streets when Hurricane Opal came through the Pensacola area many years ago.
May God bless you, Sundance, and all those you meet on those roads and streets