Hurricane Ian forces new way of life, continues destruction

by Brayden Laslo

Staff Writer

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

"Hurricane Ian approaching the Florida Peninsula" by College of DuPage is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Days after Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dangers persisted, and even worsened in some places.

Cars and houses were flooded and destroyed. In an interview with a first hand source, Sally Clary said “My house flooded and my car was totally ruined.” Residents evacuated and went up north to avoid the storm. Some stayed even though the danger was threatening. Candie Whitey said “My electricity went out and the storm was slow moving and very large. I passed time by reading and listening to the rain hit against the windows.” . The road to recovery from this monster storm will be long and painful.

Although Orlando was not anticipated to be hit by Ian, it was an was completely flooded afterward. Photo by Candie Dorsey.

When Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, an island off the coast of Fort Myers, just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday. It brought 150 mph winds tying as the fifth-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. according to the National Hurricane Center. Ian then made a second landfall 90 minutes later, still a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds, just south of Punta Gorda, near Pirate Harbor.

Ian was still not done however. As the storm doused Virginia with rain Sunday October 2nd, and officials warned of the potential for major flooding along its coast, with a coastal flood warning in effect Monday.

Ian’s remnants moved offshore and formed a nor’easter that is expected to pile even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay and threatened to cause a flood warning, a National Weather Service meteorologist warned locals . Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared states of emergency.

Other portions of the Atlantic coast could see higher tides than usual. The island town of Chincoteague in Virginia declared a state of emergency Sunday October 2nd and strongly recommended that residents in certain areas evacuate. The Eastern Shore and northern portion of North Carolina’s Outer Banks were also likely to be impacted.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by this devastating storm and hopes for a speedy recovery in the aftermath of this storm. Hurricane Ian resources and support have already been shipped out. The Jaguar Jungles stands with those affected.