I'd say it's a combination of things. People tend to think nothing horrible like this will happen to them until something horrible like this happens to them. And the media treating every storm like it's going to be the end of the world certainly has a hand in desensitizing folks that one time when the danger is real. And sometimes folks are either too old or infirmed to evacuate, or just decide to roll the dice, or are just plain foolish.

Between the oppressive heat and humidity and the ever-present threat of storms like this blasting your life away, Florida isn't a place I'd ever consider living in the first place.

People stay for different reasons, and it happens all the time. Some don't buy the hype. Some have nowhere else to go. Some don't want to leave a longtime home. And so on.

We've seen it time and again, and it's not just with hurricanes, or in Florida, either.

I fully expect the game to stay in Tampa at this point.

Understood. I've only lived in states without natural disasters so it's hard for me to understand the thought process.

I have friends in Tampa with triplet 5 year-olds. They have plenty of money and family to have gone somewhere else for this but chose to stay. Just seems like a weird choice, but again, I've never thought about it much.

we get a lot of hurricanes every year. People get immune to the threat. Now, most hurricanes are not a threat like this one. Most only effect one region or city.

Most fizzle out after landfall. We get storms almost every day in the summer that have 35-50mph winds. Now, those only last for about 15 minutes not days.

I left because they were predicting a 10ft. Surge and my house is 8.5 feet above the water. If the forecast was like it ended up, I’d probably not left my house. And I’d been fine.

If it were just me, or me and my wife, I could see me getting supplies and riding it out. But with our kids, nope. I'd be outta there as soon as the evacuation order came in.

Sister has had a house in Long Beach Island, NJ for a many moons now. Was there in 1992 when the nor'easter rolled though. We stayed because the internet and high tech communications were in their infancy and weren't aware how bad it was going to become. Didn't listen to radio and pretty sure there's still no cable at house.

Was in high school at the time and it was the first time my parents let me get drunk with them because it was so freaking scary. Sounded like there was a jet engine was running in the back yard.

We stayed in the garage and smoked meat over charcoal and sipped tequila. Luckily there was minimal damage to her house but there were some that literally destroyed. Walking around the next day it looked like some places got carpet bombed in spots.

I imagine many want to be able to be proactive with damage control as well.

I read that the buildings in Tampa start only about a foot above high tide?

Is that true or was that media BS?

I hope coochie is doing okay.

Sorry don’t know about Tampa. But, yes Tampa downtown is at the water level.

Orlando is going to get hit right now by a Cat1 hurricane. That so unusual. This is biggest hurricane to ever hit Florida. It was slow. Usually it hits land and then it’s a tropical storm. This has moved an hour and a half car ride to Orlando and still has hurricane force winds.

I’m on the other side of the state and after it hits Orlando it’s still going to have 65-75 mph winds before it goes back over water.

A very rare storm.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I&#39;ve been capturing video from this webcam in Fort Myers all day and I&#39;ve put it into a Timelapse. Check out the storm surge rushing in! Crazy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/lj7a1wThga">pic.twitter.com/lj7a1wThga</a></p>&mdash; Brennan Prill (@WxBrenn) <a href="https://twitter.com/WxBrenn/status/1575253395304288271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I guess I don't really know the difference between Tampa and Tampa downtown although I've been there for a work trip a couple of times. But that was a while ago.

I guess there's always trade offs for something that is a rare event. But at least at the moment, having buildings barely above the water line seems a bit crazy.

Nope, Katrina was a Cat 5.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Linemen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Linemen</a> have come from across the states to help get Florida&#39;s power back on. Now they wait for the all clear. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Naples?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Naples</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FortMyers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FortMyers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneIan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneIan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Florida</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tornado?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tornado</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FortLauderdale?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FortLauderdale</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CapeCoral?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CapeCoral</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeyWest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeyWest</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DelrayBeach?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DelrayBeach</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cuba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cuba</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Orlando?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Orlando</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FortLauderdale?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FortLauderdale</a> <br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hurricane?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hurricane</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hurricanFiona?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hurricanFiona</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tampa?this is 1 out of 10 gathering spots

src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tampa</a> <a href="https://t.co/46UiXOBjUd">pic.twitter.com/46UiXOBjUd</a></p>&mdash; Breaking News Worldwide (@FelizKarenP1) <a href="https://twitter.com/FelizKarenP1/status/1575318135317594113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

You are right. The levees were designed for a Cat3 hurricane.

Hurricane Katrina was the largest and 3rd strongest hurricane ever recorded to make landfall in the US. In New Orleans, the levees were designed for Category 3, but Katrina peaked at a Category 5 hurricane,

I expect the game to be played in Tampa.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I expect the game to be played in Tampa.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If this is real it might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shark seen while driving down I-4 between Orlando and Tampa! <br><br>Stay safe out there guys. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneIan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneIan</a> <a href="https://t.co/lrB8lI8MfW">pic.twitter.com/lrB8lI8MfW</a></p>&mdash; Lord Randal (@TennesseeAbroad) <a href="https://twitter.com/TennesseeAbroad/status/1575311811980980225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Million dollar houses swallowed up...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I&#39;ve been capturing video from this webcam in Fort Myers all day and I&#39;ve put it into a Timelapse. Check out the storm surge rushing in! Crazy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/lj7a1wThga">pic.twitter.com/lj7a1wThga</a></p>&mdash; Brennan Prill (@WxBrenn) <a href="https://twitter.com/WxBrenn/status/1575253395304288271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I was going to post the same thing,

I just saw on GMA that fatalities are in the hundreds in the Ft. Myers area.

My God...

It's true, the streets flood during regular thunder storms, so a hurricane pushing up the mouth of Tampa Bay would be devastating, much like what we saw yesterday.

My nephew is staged in Lake city, just waiting for the all clear to get to work

It’s not. I’ve seen that photo before.

someone above was asking where the ocean water goes when it comes back, responding to a picture of tampa bay being dry before the hurricane hit. lol well there's the answer

Totally fake. For water to be that deep where they're talking about, Tampa would have to be under water. Not just near the bay, the entire city.

That and there’s no traffic on I-4, although the construction barricades are probably legit.

Just heard from my best bud in Lakeland. No water, no power, and yard is trashed. I told him I was praying for him. He said "pray for my sanity".

I was just glad to hear back from him. This hurricane is a beast.

That's the happiest dog you will ever see.
I don't think I'd risk saving the cat, though. :evil:

Hope Coochie is okay.

Yeah, that same exact picture was going around when Houston got hit by that hurricane a few years back.

Looks like there was some pretty legit damage. The road to Sanibel Island looks like an apocalypse movie.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Heavy pavement scouring near the Sanibel Causeway.<br>(Via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBC2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBC2</a>) <a href="https://t.co/bEEdvgDllz">pic.twitter.com/bEEdvgDllz</a></p>&mdash; Luke Hatton (@LukeHattonWX) <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeHattonWX/status/1575459518871388160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Damn

I have a buddy in St Pete. Their power went out yesterday and hasn't come back on yet. He's not as close to the water as Coochie liquor is, so I'd assume he has no power at this point. Luckily the eye hit well to the south so they avoided a direct hit. Hopefully he'll be able to check in soon

Don't build roads on sand... Check

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Everyone: “Look! There are Sharks in the streets on Florida towns!”<br><br>the NfL: “Bucs vs. Chiefs will be played as scheduled”<a href="https://t.co/q11zxPMRb4">pic.twitter.com/q11zxPMRb4</a></p>&mdash; Daniel Harms�� (@InHarmsWay19) <a href="https://twitter.com/InHarmsWay19/status/1575212909898211332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ain't nothing left

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fort Myers Beach Times Square LEVELED following <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneIan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneIan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricanIan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricanIan</a> <a href="https://t.co/V3gHTs5Mx8">pic.twitter.com/V3gHTs5Mx8</a></p>&mdash; Smurph (@swmurfl) <a href="https://twitter.com/swmurfl/status/1575498520370376704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Welp thank god that the only hurricane to make landfall..

West coast of Florida doesn't really have anything to stop storm surge geographically. Good think the state government was prepared.

No one is driving to Sanibel anytime soon. Maybe 50% is left of the causeway?

https://youtu.be/JWpvsR7I4o0

DeSantis did a fantastic job both in preparation and cleanup. 46000 linemen, 5000 national guard, releif funds etc. We're so lucky to have him as our governor.

My only complaint is it didn't hit Tampa

Hopefully you remember that the next time Houston gets slammed

Spoke with my stepdad in Siesta Key. Said the power has been off since yesterday morning, but he's got generators so that hasn't affected him much. Said he had some big palm fronds down in the yard and some minimal damage to other landscaping plants, but nothing major. No damage to the house.

He got lucky - especially riding it out in his house - if Ian had wobbled 40-50 miles north he likely would've been screwed.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/...S7D8auQMA&s=19

The #Bucs and #Chiefs game will be played as scheduled on Sunday night in Tampa.

Simma dayn na...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CH_Js_5SpB8?start=6" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is a good point, like Cali and NOLA, HOU isn't needed...

Houston is a disgusting toilet bowl city

What's the gator population like in these flooded areas?

Who wants to be there's gonna be some problems with those modern day dinosaurs being able to swim up to your front door.

So I saw a stat that less than half the houses that are labeled as being in the flood zone have flood insurance and less than a third of those not officially in the flood zone have insurance.

Half the people own their homes outright? (And everyone who owns their own home declines to have flood insurance.) Or you don't need flood insurance for a mortgage?

I kind of wonder how they get some of those boats back into the water. That one at 6:03 is pretty big and I can't even tell where it came from.

I think you don't need flood insurance if you're not in a flood zone. But how does Florida define flood zones? From my perspective in the Rocky Mountains, it seems like most of the state could be a flood zone just by being really flat and rainy, and then when you add hurricanes atop that, it seems like pretty much any house has some vulnerability.

My son's worked non-stop since yesterday morning in Naples-says they have power there so that's good. Flooding everywhere that's bad.

Lot's of people who own there house there don't have flood insurance due to exorbitant high rates and limited income-retirement

The part I'm confused about, is how can half of the people in the flood zone not have insurance? I would think their mortgage would require it?

And what happens to the two thirds not in the flood zone who got catastrophically flooded anyway? And owed a huge mortgage and no longer have a house.

They just declare bankruptcy?

I've never lived in a flood zone, but have talked to people who do. Most are willing to roll the dice and pray they never have a problem. Also, it's really hard and expensive to get flood insurance if you're in a flood zone.
I'm not sure if mortgage companies require flood insurance though

The chance of flooding in many areas is higher than people want to face up to and paying the real, actuarial cost (not subsidized) is a shock.

This is also a big issue with fire insurance out west.

Not a lot of easy solutions.

Still don't understand the mortgage thing though.

Last Activity: Today 11:53 AM

I'm not clear on hurricanes, for river flooding, I thought you needed flood insurance to get a mortgage if you were listed as being in the '100 year flood plain' as determined by FEMA.

And that insurance was often provided by FEMA because private companies didn't want to.

I can't imagine a mortgage company wanting to assume the risk of property that is known to be in a flood zone as opposed to requiring the home owner to carry insurance just like fire insurance is required.

But I admit something seems odd about the stat I saw.

Okay, so standard home owners insurance doesn't cover flooding.

My house is not in a listed flood zone and I'm sure my policy does not cover it.

But I believe there is some chance that if a levee failed, my house could flood.

But I presume if I was listed as being in the 100 year flood zone and if I still had a mortgage (I don't) my mortgage would require it?

Or am I wrong on that?

Banks routinely accept losses on flooding when home owners declare bankruptcy and walk away?

KCChiefsFan88 your power out? Seems Miami was not really affected.

You posted the above last week bashing CA power grid during our heat wave/potential loss of power then the following week lots of folks in FL losing their power.

Hope the wonderful people of FL get their power back on right away and recover from this hurricane quickly.

Daughter and husband living in Cape Coral hunkered down and rode it out at home. Early she lost internet but could still text. She kept asking me for radar updates. Pretty helpless feeling when you have to text back you've got about 3 more hours of 100mph winds. She finally went radio silent at 6pm and I had to wait until this morning to find out they made it ok with minimal damage.

It takes a near category 5 hurricane with 150+ mph winds to disrupt the power grid in Florida… meanwhile in California if the temperatures are slightly above normal (with otherwise perfect weather conditions), a panic ensues with forced energy conservation measures and the threat of blackouts.

Otherwise it is exactly the same situation. ROFL

If you are in a flood zone, as determined by FIMA, and are below 10 feet from the water line, no bank will loan you money for a mortgage. You can be in a flood zone and be above 10 feet and you are okay from being forced by a mortgage company to get flood insurance. But, going without it would be pretty insanely stupid.

If you have the money to live near the water and don’t get the flood insurance, you risk having your 400K-700K house go bye bye. If you have a mortgage your still responsible to pay and now you have to pay to live somewhere else too.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fort Myers Beach Times Square LEVELED following <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneIan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneIan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricanIan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricanIan</a> <a href="https://t.co/V3gHTs5Mx8">pic.twitter.com/V3gHTs5Mx8</a></p>&mdash; Smurph (@swmurfl) <a href="https://twitter.com/swmurfl/status/1575498520370376704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The dick measuring contest of two states in the top 10 annually for power outages... one mostly due to catastrophic storms and one largely due to massive wild fires. :popcorn:

You were bashing the people of California and the electric grid during record setting extreme weather (see quote below). It wasn't "slightly above normal" temps at all. People actually died during that heat wave. Now FL is getting some extreme weather a week later.

There were over 1000 heat records broken, and the longest/hottest heat wave on record in CA. Some people are just blinded by politics.

When we bought our house, everything was OK. But I refi'd for a lower rate and lo and behold, the flood zone maps had been redrawn and now a corner of my house showed it was in a 100 year flood zone. I argued with the bank that there was no way, they came out and looked and agreed, but the Feds had redrawn the map and the difference was literally the width of a ballpoint pen on satellite photo at 100' scale. There's a 25' drop down to my lower pasture and I might agree that the pasture could be in a flood zone,, but not the house. Well you can get everybody and there brother to look at it and agree with you, but the Feds are only going to buy into a survey. So I paid the $2700 for a new survey and got the LOMA. Otherwise it would have been over $50 a month for the next 17 years and that was for $5K worth of coverage.

To show how crazy flood zones are drawn, I could stand next to the corner of my house and see the tops of the roofs of 3 neighbors' houses that border the same creek I do. None of them were in the flood zone.

That is just "slightly above normal temp" to some people out in FL. Which is just silly to say.

It's like me saying Hurricane wind is slightly above tropical storm wind.

15' storm surge...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ft Myers Beach is effectively gone, almost no emergency crews yet. These poor people need so much help… <a href="https://t.co/5uLo26zFMZ">pic.twitter.com/5uLo26zFMZ</a></p>&mdash; Max Olson (@MesoMax919) <a href="https://twitter.com/MesoMax919/status/1575511789386833923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mortgage companies don't let you accept the risk of you not having fire insurance. And mortgage companies can't stop you from declaring bankruptcy.

If you aren't in a flood zone, it seems like flood insurance shouldn't be that expensive so it being a requirement of the loan wouldn't be a big deal.

If you are in a flood zone, you (or I guess I should say I) would think they sure as hell would require their loan to be flood protected. No insurance/no loan.

And I don't think I would want to give out loans to anyone in the region who didn't have insurance against damage from hurricane/tropical storms.

But I guess it is just one of those head scratchers I'm not going to understand.

Here in daytona beach we took a damn pounding. Flash floods everywhere. Powerlines all down , Luckily my house was good. Prayers up to anyone who got the brunt of it. If i can do anything let me know .Man this is awful .

Glad to hear that you pretty much made out OK. Here outside of Jacksonville we were spared much of what was originally predicted so I count my family and I as blessed.

Bolded is not true. I have flood insurance because I live in a flood zone.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides flood insurance to property owners, renters and businesses, and having this coverage helps them recover faster when floodwaters recede. The NFIP works with communities required to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that help mitigate flooding effects. Keep in mind your community must participate.

Flood insurance is available to anyone living in one of the 23,000 participating NFIP communities. Homes and businesses in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance.

I also have a certified Elevation Certificate.
Basically this is an a document that you file with your community that shows through elevation shots and official records that your buildings/dwellings and any substantial improvements in all identified Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs)are properly elevated. By having this Elevation Certificate it lowers my flood insurance from $2500 a year to about $200 a year.

Ft. Myers Pier