Tampa Bay Times reporter Zachary T. Sampson and photojournalist Douglas R. Clifford left their hotel room in Fort Myers late Wednesday night and searched the area and assessed the damage caused by Hurricane Ian for hours.
Their latest discovery is jaw-dropping: a section of causeway leading to Sanibel is missing, obliterated by the powerful Category 4 storm.
Here are their dispatches from Lee County:
4:15 a.m.: A section of the causeway leading to Sanibel is obliterated
An alarm rang endlessly at the Sanibel Causeway tollbooth. Go just past it, and the road soon gives way. Where the bridge rises from the mainland to the island, one of the first sections of the span has disappeared. The crumbled pavement is near the edge of the water. The rest of the bridge extends forward, inaccessible.
2 a.m.: Pavement leading to Sanibel folded like an accordion
JUST BEFORE SANIBEL ROADWAY – Under toll sign – 1/2 mile – McGregor Road to Sanibel Island is impassable.
The sidewalk is folded like an accordion, torn into ribbons by a mighty storm surge. Nearby, a spiral staircase was dropped into the brush next to a white pick-up truck. The storm also threw up a boat trailer and other debris.
The sand was strewn in sheets on the sidewalk – seabed on dry land. Waves lapped on the shore a few paces away.
Two cars attempted to drive away to the island around 1.30am, including a group of young men hoping to join their friend.
They had to turn around.
12:30 a.m.: Downtown Fort Myers badly flooded
FORT MYERS — Building alarms rang through the wind still rustling through downtown shortly before midnight. Shin-high gray water ran along First Street outside the United States Courthouse. Small pieces of trash drifted in the current.
A store near First Street suffered a smashed window display. A dress hanging on the shelf, fluttering in the wind. Nearby, what might have been pieces of a levee lay along the road – huge chunks of moss covered in a hard exterior, scarred by barnacles.
A few vans were stuck on the road leading to Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island. One of the drivers had boats to check.
The water was still too high.
Water still filled some streets in the McGregor Boulevard neighborhoods southwest of downtown. It drifted halfway up the posts of the white mailboxes.
A few houses shone in total darkness, generators hummed.
Downed branches – and a few whole trees – littered the lawns.
Some downtown blocks had electricity, strange outliers with bright lights – a few empty bars, a pizza house.
10:00 p.m.: ‘It blew us for hours.’
CAPE CORAL — Hours after Hurricane Ian made landfall near Caya Costa, this town that once rose improbably from the wetlands was pitch black Wednesday night.
John Renas, 42, surveyed his yard with two of his children, their headlamps soaring above the knee-high floodwaters.
“It blew us away for hours,” said Renas, who has lived in the area since he was 16.
They never really considered evacuating for Ian, he said.
The wave climbed to the edge of their home at the corner of Santa Barbara Boulevard and 39th Terrace SE. The wind was equally terrifying, buffeting and lifting the eaves.
For hours, Renas said, I felt like the wind was going to suck the doors. He held one, he said, and his son, Zak Irwin, held the other.
“The screams, just something I’ll never forget,” Renas said.
“Like cars revving their engines,” said his daughter Brianna Renas, 17.
“Or a plane flying overhead,” Irwin said.
Renas said his 12-year-old daughter was having fun at first, treating the shelter-in-place like a camping trip. Then she looked outside and saw the floodwaters approaching. She started crying.
At around 9:30 p.m., murky brown seawater was still soaking their front and side yards. She was lapping against an overturned palm tree, beside which Renas’ daughter usually waits for the school bus.
About 100 yards down the street, a white car lay abandoned on the road, floor-deep in water.
“Next time they tell us to evacuate,” Renas said, “I’ll leave.”
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Tampa Bay Times 2022 Hurricane Guide
ROAD CLOSURES: What you need to know about bridges, roads as Hurricane Ian approaches.
HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THE HURRICANE: A school mental health expert says let them know what’s going on, keep a routine and stay calm.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT A SHELTER: What to bring – and what not to bring – as well as information on pets, civility and more.
WHAT TO DO IF A HURRICANE DAMAGES YOUR HOME: Stay calm, then call your insurance company.
SECURE YOUR HOME: Storms and property damage go hand in hand. Here’s how to prepare.
IT’S THE SEASON OF STORMS: Prepare and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane.
GROWING THREAT: Tampa Bay is going to be flooded. Here’s how to prepare.
RECHECK: Checklists for Building All Kinds of Hurricane Kits
PHONE HIM: Use your smartphone to protect your data, documents and photos.
SELF-ADMINISTERED CARE: Protect your sanity during a hurricane.
• • •
PART 1: The Tampa Bay Times has teamed up with the National Hurricane Center for a revealing look at future storms.
PART 2: Even weak hurricanes can cause huge storm surges. Experts say people don’t understand the risk.
PART 3: Tampa Bay is at huge flood risk. What should we do about it?
INTERACTIVE MAP: Search your Tampa Bay neighborhood to see the risk of hurricane flooding.