Hurricane Ian - September 28, 2022

Would you care to experience Hurricane Ian through the text messages sent to my cellphone?

I will spare you the blaring emergency alert siren that accompanies many of these. We are safe after the storm after prepping with sandbags, storm shutters and taking all the other precautions recommended.

We never stay in an area that has an evacuation order. The barrier islands on the Gulf Coast are only about four feet above sea level. That means a fourteen-foot surge will go right over the top of any single-story structure. A taller one might survive, but it will be without power, air conditioning, or drinkable water for an indefinite period of time. So when told to go, we skedaddle.

TUESDAY - A little after 9 AM - Evacuations orders arrive via text.

WEDNESDAY - A bit after 1:00 PM the County notifies us that no emergency vehicles will respond to emergency calls. We hope we won’t need them because it is now too dangerous for first responders to be dispatched.

WEDNESDAY - Hurricane Ian is turning and seems to be heading right for Sarasota, Florida. We are the blue circle. We do not yet know that landfall will be just to our south.

I am worrying about the eye wall, which pushes water into the land. Reports come in that the northern wind is emptying Tampa Bay. Is it also emptying Sarasota Bay? That would be a very good thing, but there is no report.

Our cable and internet go down. We have an emergency radio and listen to the TV reports but can see no images.

WEDNESDAY - We are safe and dry. The winds are howling, sounding like a jet on take-off, but not so loud that I don’t hear this alert. It is now too dangerous to travel. Shelter in place and wait out the storm.

One bit of news - Ian has hit land and is downgraded to a Cat 3. Winds only 125 MPH. I’m sure we aren’t getting those winds, but I’m disconcerted by an occasional bang of something hitting the roof.

WEDNESDAY - Nearly 9:00 PM. It’s now dark and the winds are howling. The siren that accompanies this alert makes me jump. LEAVE NOW in all caps. We are already off the barrier islands and in Evacuation Level D. I wonder what kind of storm surge is heading our way.

Concerned texts from family and friends are eating up the battery. But our power has stayed on.

THURSDAY - Up much of the night listening to the wind. But awakened very early with more texts from friends making sure we are safe.

Returning to the beach on Thursday afternoon. The causeway is open and we are allowed on the barrier island. Judging from the amount of sand added to the beach, I think the northside winds protected the beach and the rough surf ate away some of that new deposit.

Electricity is on, but we are instructed to boil water. We are grateful to find our home still standing with no damage.

We now have internet and I see the first images of the damage just to our south.

The footage is heartbreaking and none of us is celebrating when our neighbors to the south have suffered such terrible losses.