ATL: IAN - Post-Tropical - Discussion

[weeniepatrol]

This storm defeated me and millions of others. Our home in Key West was seriously flooded and we cant live there for the foreseeable future. Still have a long way to go in terms of drying out and cleaning up. Currently staying at a hotel and paying out of pocket.

Currently the Florida Keys residents are not eligible for FEMA relief as Monroe County has not been added to the list of "disaster areas", other areas with significantly less wind and bo surge have already been approved (i e.Polk, Seminole, Orange/Orlando, Pinellas, ect .)

While we have not suffered a total loss like many, losing well over half of our possessions and not knowing where we will be able to live in the weeks ahead is a horrible experience. There are perhaps hundreds of thousands maybe millions others who no longer can go home as a result of Ian.

I expected it to be worse than predicted for Key West, I was not ready for the surge. I regret not making one last sweep and putting valuables on high ground. We stayed at a hotel as we expected street flooding did not want to be flooded in with a 9 and 6 year old. I am glad we did as they would have be terrified with water rushing in the house and not knowing when it would stop.

I have been writing my local officials to get our county added to FEMA's list. Even if we can apply (today) Friday, we will not get any help until Tuesday. Meanwhile I have to keep paying for a hotel room and cant leave and stay with family as both of us still have to work.

I feel for those who lost everything, I cant imagine. As I said this ordeal has defeated me.

Man. This was difficult to read. At least you still have your life. Which is the only truly irreplaceable thing. I wish you luck and peace.

[Blinhart]

This storm defeated me and millions of others. Our home in Key West was seriously flooded and we cant live there for the foreseeable future. Still have a long way to go in terms of drying out and cleaning up. Currently staying at a hotel and paying out of pocket.

Currently the Florida Keys residents are not eligible for FEMA relief as Monroe County has not been added to the list of "disaster areas", other areas with significantly less wind and bo surge have already been approved (i e.Polk, Seminole, Orange/Orlando, Pinellas, ect .)

While we have not suffered a total loss like many, losing well over half of our possessions and not knowing where we will be able to live in the weeks ahead is a horrible experience. There are perhaps hundreds of thousands maybe millions others who no longer can go home as a result of Ian.

I expected it to be worse than predicted for Key West, I was not ready for the surge. I regret not making one last sweep and putting valuables on high ground. We stayed at a hotel as we expected street flooding did not want to be flooded in with a 9 and 6 year old. I am glad we did as they would have be terrified with water rushing in the house and not knowing when it would stop.

I have been writing my local officials to get our county added to FEMA's list. Even if we can apply (today) Friday, we will not get any help until Tuesday. Meanwhile I have to keep paying for a hotel room and cant leave and stay with family as both of us still have to work.

I feel for those who lost everything, I cant imagine. As I said this ordeal has defeated me.

Man. This was difficult to read. At least you still have your life. Which is the only truly irreplaceable thing. I wish you luck and peace.

I don't understand why it would be so hard for the county officials that are in charge of Key West to apply and get the declaration done. I would think almost any county in the Peninsula, except for those that are on the SE coast around Fort Lauderdale and Miami, would be able to get the declaration done almost immediately.

[Cargill]

It's really kinda tough and definitely unpleasant if you are in South Florida. Remember you're basically a five hour drive without traffic (this is key) just to get to Jacksonville from Ft Lauderdale. There are pretty much only three main roads to get out from either the west coast or the east coast and there are something like 6m+ people just in the Miami/Broward/Palm Beach metros, and gas can be crazy to find. Also, the storm is likely moving north at an angle and has a chance to go up either the east or west coast, so if it ends up going more south and then up the west coast it could come back north east across the state and make it so you can't get back for a while.

Add in if you have pets, now you're likely stuck in a hotel the whole time, cause otherwise your dog will potentially bark the entire time if you leave and who knows what crazy things your cats might do. Of course most hotels don't take pets, if you're lucky to find a hotel easily, cause again 6 million people and really it could hit anywhere in that range and you really don't want to be out of power for a week in the Florida heat, especially if you have a kid(s)...

As an Australian thousands of kms away I can still understand all that. However I find it extraordinary that there are so many deaths. You don't say, "Gosh, the motels in Jacksonville won't take Fluffy and Fido, so I guess we have to stay here 500 yards from the beach and right on sea level with 12' surge, and see what happens!"

All everyone has to do is throw everyone in car (including the kids and pets) - plus a hamper of sandwiches and some bottled water - and drive 40 miles inland. You might have a rough 24 or even 48 hours, and you might have to move more than once, but at least you live! I just don't get it - why serious numbers die. I don't buy the "only three highways out" excuse - even thirty miles inland was better.

[wxman57]

Those of you in the Carolinas are not likely going to see hurricane force sustained wind. Temps are in the upper 50s on the coast now, and there is no convection near Ian's center. Strongest coastal wind report is Myrtle Beach with 23 gusting 33 kts. Charleston buoy has about 50 kts. Winds are blowing offshore most areas, making a significant surge unlikely. Coastal counties may get low-end TS winds at most, with higher gusts possible. Fortunately, Ian has transitioned into an extratropical storm now.

[jhpigott]

So tragic. Ian's Florida death toll up to 12

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hu ... -rcna49924

[Jr0d]

I don't understand why it would be so hard for the county officials that are in charge of Key West to apply and get the declaration done. I would think almost any county in the Peninsula, except for those that are on the SE coast around Fort Lauderdale and Miami, would be able to get the declaration done almost immediately.

We should have had a hurricane warning. Countless people rode this out on their boat. Last I head one couple and their dog is still missing at sea.

A lot of folks expected "only a tropical storm" because we were under a tropical warning, not a hurricane.

I've emailed elected officials...screen shot the FEMA page where it says we are not on the list. The Mayor of Key West emailed me back and said she showed it to the FEMA officials.

I understand that we got it much worse than expected, therefore not one of the first counties on the list as those in hurricane warning area were"pre-approved" before landfall. What I don't understand is how Polk, Orange and Seminole got on the list before Monroe County.

Hopefully we can file today, but it takes at least 2 business days to process....

[Iceresistance]

I don't understand why it would be so hard for the county officials that are in charge of Key West to apply and get the declaration done. I would think almost any county in the Peninsula, except for those that are on the SE coast around Fort Lauderdale and Miami, would be able to get the declaration done almost immediately.

We should have had a hurricane warning. Countless people rode this out on their boat. Last I head one couple and their dog is still missing at sea.

A lot of folks expected "only a tropical storm" because we were under a tropical warning, not a hurricane.

I've emailed elected officials...screen shot the FEMA page where it says we are not on the list. The Mayor of Key West emailed me back and said she showed it to the FEMA officials.

I understand that we got it much worse than expected, therefore not one of the first counties on the list as those in hurricane warning area were"pre-approved" before landfall. What I don't understand is how Polk, Orange and Seminole got on the list before Monroe County.

Hopefully we can file today, but it takes at least 2 business days to process....

It appears that FEMA expected the storm to make landfall closer to Tampa Bay, but because Ian was deviating further to the east, the most severe impact was further south in the counties that were not pre-approved, including Fort Myers. I'm thinking that it's safe to say that Ian took FEMA by surprise as well.

[Jr0d]

Man. This was difficult to read. At least you still have your life. Which is the only truly irreplaceable thing. I wish you luck and peace.

Sorry about that. Had a few drinks last night and had to vent.

If it was just me, this would be a no big deal. However the kids losing most their toys, clothes, bed frames, ect makes it tough.

Im glad we evacuated to a hotel but upset with myself for not going back for one final pick up and putting more valuables up high.

[bcargile]

St Regis Resort in North Topsail has a webcam from the top of the highest building. Not much to see right now, hoping we get spared.

https://www.stregishoa.org/

Hope the link works…

[Jr0d]

It appears that FEMA expected the storm to make landfall closer to Tampa Bay, but because Ian was deviating further to the east, the most severe impact was further south in the counties that were not pre-approved, including Fort Myers. I'm thinking that it's safe to say that Ian took FEMA by surprise as well.

Lee County was on the list Wednesday. Orange/Orlando, Seminole, and Polk were added yesterday.

There is no excuse for those counties being approved before Monroe, especially since we were the first to get impacted.

[weeniepatrol]

Man. This was difficult to read. At least you still have your life. Which is the only truly irreplaceable thing. I wish you luck and peace.

Sorry about that. Had a few drinks last night and had to vent.

If it was just me, this would be a no big deal. However the kids losing most their toys, clothes, bed frames, ect makes it tough.

Im glad we evacuated to a hotel but upset with myself for not going back for one final pick up and putting more valuables up high.

That's terrible and I'm sorry this happened to you. No need to apologize for venting. S2K will always have your back and be here to listen.

You can't blame yourself for anything here, at all. You protected your family and kept them ALIVE by evacuating.

[setxsunshine]

Man. This was difficult to read. At least you still have your life. Which is the only truly irreplaceable thing. I wish you luck and peace.

Sorry about that. Had a few drinks last night and had to vent.

If it was just me, this would be a no big deal. However the kids losing most their toys, clothes, bed frames, ect makes it tough.

Im glad we evacuated to a hotel but upset with myself for not going back for one final pick up and putting more valuables up high.

Try not to beat yourself up over this. Hindsight is always 20/20. I do understand your frustrations though. It brings back memories of my (now) DIL’s family during Harvey. They lived near a creek so had had water in their house before (several inches). They moved some things to their attic and some to my son’s garage. 40+inches of rain later their house was totally under water. The dad kicked himself for not moving his family after the previous time they had water.
The best you can do is learn and move forward, which I know you’ll do. My heart goes out to you. And, venting is needed sometimes.

[Jr0d]

The weather station that measures water levels was on the leeward side of the winds(technically criss offshore) during the peak surge and was tucked in the harbor, in my opinion and observations tell me it was much higher on the south facing side.

I was expecting the SW winds or NW quadrant to bring the top surge. It was the SE winds in the NE quadrant that brough us peak surge. This is another reason why I was not expecting nor prepared for so much water.

This pictures show how high the surge was (and this was not the peak). The top of the sea wall is over 6' above the mean water line.

[tropicwatch]

Convection building quickly as Ian approaches the coast.

[bcargile]

Trying to add picture:

https://ibb.co/b2c9vtC

[Elsiecoro]

It's really kinda tough and definitely unpleasant if you are in South Florida. Remember you're basically a five hour drive without traffic (this is key) just to get to Jacksonville from Ft Lauderdale. There are pretty much only three main roads to get out from either the west coast or the east coast and there are something like 6m+ people just in the Miami/Broward/Palm Beach metros, and gas can be crazy to find. Also, the storm is likely moving north at an angle and has a chance to go up either the east or west coast, so if it ends up going more south and then up the west coast it could come back north east across the state and make it so you can't get back for a while.

Add in if you have pets, now you're likely stuck in a hotel the whole time, cause otherwise your dog will potentially bark the entire time if you leave and who knows what crazy things your cats might do. Of course most hotels don't take pets, if you're lucky to find a hotel easily, cause again 6 million people and really it could hit anywhere in that range and you really don't want to be out of power for a week in the Florida heat, especially if you have a kid(s)...

As an Australian thousands of kms away I can still understand all that. However I find it extraordinary that there are so many deaths. You don't say, "Gosh, the motels in Jacksonville won't take Fluffy and Fido, so I guess we have to stay here 500 yards from the beach and right on sea level with 12' surge, and see what happens!"

All everyone has to do is throw everyone in car (including the kids and pets) - plus a hamper of sandwiches and some bottled water - and drive 40 miles inland. You might have a rough 24 or even 48 hours, and you might have to move more than once, but at least you live! I just don't get it - why serious numbers die. I don't buy the "only three highways out" excuse - even thirty miles inland was better.

I think you forget that not everyone owns a car, or that there may be very good legitimate reasons why they could not leave. Sure some people made the wrong decision, but thats not “everyone”.

[utweather]

It's really kinda tough and definitely unpleasant if you are in South Florida. Remember you're basically a five hour drive without traffic (this is key) just to get to Jacksonville from Ft Lauderdale. There are pretty much only three main roads to get out from either the west coast or the east coast and there are something like 6m+ people just in the Miami/Broward/Palm Beach metros, and gas can be crazy to find. Also, the storm is likely moving north at an angle and has a chance to go up either the east or west coast, so if it ends up going more south and then up the west coast it could come back north east across the state and make it so you can't get back for a while.

Add in if you have pets, now you're likely stuck in a hotel the whole time, cause otherwise your dog will potentially bark the entire time if you leave and who knows what crazy things your cats might do. Of course most hotels don't take pets, if you're lucky to find a hotel easily, cause again 6 million people and really it could hit anywhere in that range and you really don't want to be out of power for a week in the Florida heat, especially if you have a kid(s)...

As an Australian thousands of kms away I can still understand all that. However I find it extraordinary that there are so many deaths. You don't say, "Gosh, the motels in Jacksonville won't take Fluffy and Fido, so I guess we have to stay here 500 yards from the beach and right on sea level with 12' surge, and see what happens!"

All everyone has to do is throw everyone in car (including the kids and pets) - plus a hamper of sandwiches and some bottled water - and drive 40 miles inland. You might have a rough 24 or even 48 hours, and you might have to move more than once, but at least you live! I just don't get it - why serious numbers die. I don't buy the "only three highways out" excuse - even thirty miles inland was better.

I think you forget that not everyone owns a car, or that there may be very good legitimate reasons why they could not leave. Sure some people made the wrong decision, but thats not “everyone”.

That sounds like Katrina. Was Fort Myers under a forced evacuation or any buses made available?

[tropicwatch]

AF recon about to be feet wet. Good timing with the building convection.

[Coolcruiseman]

We should have had a hurricane warning. Countless people rode this out on their boat. Last I head one couple and their dog is still missing at sea.

A lot of folks expected "only a tropical storm" because we were under a tropical warning, not a hurricane.

This was kind of surprising that Key West wasn't put under a hurricane warning at least once Ian's path crossing Cuba became clearer. Particularly when you consider here on the east coast we were put under one as Ian was about to make his Florida landfall.

[JtSmarts]

Ian is Massive. Hurricane winds extending 70 miles from the center and tropical storm winds extending 485 miles from center.