Dive Transient:
- Hurricane Ian battered Florida’s infrastructure when it made landfall Wednesday, swamping the southwest a part of the state specifically and resulting in widespread flooding and energy outages. The document 150-mph winds and towering waves worn out complete sections of the Sanibel Causeway in Lee County and hit different infrastructure throughout the state, inflicting an estimated $40 billion in harm.
- Harm to the 12-mile causeway severed the one connection to the mainland for Sanibel and Captiva Islands. The causeway, which opened in 1963, spans the San Carlos Bay and consists of three two-lane bridge spans with synthetic islands between them.
- Two parts of the ramp to the bridge washed away, as did a bit of roadway that crossed an island in the midst of the causeway, in line with CNN. Inspectors in Lee County and elsewhere are nonetheless working to evaluate all bridges, native officers stated, however it’s clear the county was devastated by the hurricane.
Dive Perception:
On Thursday after the Class 4 storm had largely moved out of the state, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated the Sanibel Causeway will have to be rebuilt, as will components of the electrical grid in Lee County and neighboring Charlotte County. A Florida energy outage tracker confirmed almost 2 million residents all through the state had been with out electrical energy as of Friday morning.
Different infrastructure has been broken as properly. In Punta Gorda, Florida, within the southwest a part of the state, metropolis officers reported their water reservoir emptied in a single day, in line with Fox 13. Hospitals and nursing properties are inundated with water, the Related Press reported. The Sarasota-Bradenton Worldwide Airport sustained harm to its roof, in line with Tampa Bay 10.
The state is working to turn out to be extra resilient to extreme climate occasions. Late final yr, storm surge-prone Tampa, Florida, began a $39 million stormwater challenge to enhance drainage and defend town from flooding. The challenge was on schedule earlier than Ian swept by way of, however it’s not clear how a lot the hurricane will set it again.
Florida is beginning to choose up the items, however Ian’s reign of destruction is probably not over. After diminishing to a tropical storm, Ian strengthened to a Class 1 hurricane once more because it headed out over the Atlantic Thursday. It was anticipated to hit Charleston, South Carolina, by noon Friday.