Regarding the last global warming post here on TBW, dated August 19, 2024, I would like to validate it by giving my own eyewitness account from my own personal experiences of living in SWFL where the temperatures this summer soared, every sunny day, past the 120F degree temperature (49 deg C) . . . that is the maximum number of all thermometers. I went through the worst hurricane ever to hit my area in September 2022, 2 years ago, history-making Hurricane Ian.
This summer we had three hurricanes that impacted us, in one summer season, (Debbie, Helene and Milton). A new record I think, at least for my 35 years of living here it was a record amount for one summer. (And as I write this on Oct. 27, 2024, there is another system being monitored for possible development into another hurricane in the southern Caribbean! It's the exact area over sea waters that the 3 hurricanes I'm writing about came from. If it forms its name will be Patty.)
I moved here in 1989. The first Hurricane that directly hit my area was Hurricane Charley, in 2004, a Cat 4 storm. Before that, there had NOT been a hurricane here in 40 years. Since that 2004 hurricane, I've experienced and been in 11 direct hits from major hurricanes and about 25 tropical storms. For average's sake that equates to 36 tropical cyclones in 35 years.
I have also watched the tides rise at least 2 feet. Today just normal high tide every day puts many seawalls and docks under water. No storm, only a high tide. The first hurricane this summer was just before the date of the last post-Gary published on 8/19/24. It occurred on August 5, 2024, named Hurricane Debbie. Debbie hit my area of SWFL as a strong tropical storm that caused minor storm surge flooding and minor wind damages before moving on and strengthening further into a Cat 1 hurricane and making an impact north of my area in FL. The flood impact of Debbie on my area was the disaster/damaging part, not the wind, Debbie caused a rise of tides that put the salt water over sea walls a few feet into backyards, submerged boat docks and some low-lying structures.
Other causes of Debbie and all other hurricanes are the traffic stops, with most people staying indoors and off roads until it clears our area and the tides go down. Stores close, schools close, gas stations close, banks close, bridges close, some low-lying roads close, and jobs cancel so you have income loss. Evacuation is suggested or mandatory so figure out where to go or prepare your house to be the shelter, and you also are forced to spend hundreds of dollars or more buying dry food, water, batteries, candles, gas, generators, and many other things in preparation for the aftermath. Now, apply all that to be the case three times in 2 months!
Stress is the number one mood. After Debbie, came Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024. A much stronger tropical system that strengthened into a Cat 4 Hurricane and skirted the entire west coastline of FL. Up to 70 mph winds and significant storm surge flooding to my west coast area. It was much stronger than Debbie, had a lot more flooding than Debbie, and forced people into Hurricane prep mode for several days before landfall as it's coarse was not completely certain by weather forecasts as to who would take the direct hit this time. As it gets closer forecasts usually name a city for landfall but that cone used to show the track of hurricanes is always an uncertainty ranging in a wide area of at least a hundred-mile radius, but the centre of the cone is the most probable place for direct impact.
The eye of Helene stayed over the Gulf of Mexico but was close enough to SWFL causing us to receive the right side of that storm with the high tropical storm force winds category and its counterclockwise winds that push in ocean water as it passes by flooding the entire coastline. The results were moderate wind damage and significant flooding for all the islands and coasts of the mainland. On the islands by me (Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island, Matlacha and Ft. Myers Beach) we were submerged. Up to 6 inches of seawater storm surge went inside some low elevation homes, hotels, restaurants and businesses, most roads were underwater, there scattered power outages and or problems, scattered trees down, house vinyl siding blown off, some scattered roof damages, exterior signs/yard or porch furniture blown away or damaged, porch screens blown out, pool water ruined from the intrusion of the flood waters, and as with Debby all kinds of daily day closures of infrastructure.
The Next Hurricane was only two weeks later and just days before the date of our infamous cat 5 direct hit from Hurricane Ian two years ago, Hurricane Milton became our next hurricane threat. It hit us on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. It was not a direct hit for me but it was a Cat 1 Hurricane impact with 100 mph sustained winds and major storm surge flooding that caused almost exactly the same flood damages as Ian did 2 years ago.
Here we go again, almost exactly to the day of Ian and only 2 short years later and still rebuilding from Ian here, we go underwater again setting the Ian recovery mode back to square one, rip out all that Ian rehab and start over. Many homes had significant interior water flooding damage ... again. Up to 16 inches of water intruded most homes here from Milton, compared to Ian who gave us up to 3 feet of flood water inside many island homes. A foot and a half or 3 feet, even just 6 inches of water inside a building totals it out. Ruins everything on the floor causing you to have to tear out everything that got touched by the water.
Mould will start to grow in a matter of days after things get wet. So removal is mandatory. With these storm surge floods you can and will lose things such as automobiles, lawnmowers, household appliances, hot water heaters, air conditioning, exterior electrical boxes, furniture, interior flooring, insulation, wiring, a/c duct work, interior wall board, wood subflooring, anything on the ground and up to 3 or 4 feet above ground is lost unless you can move it to higher ground or protect it in some way.
Due to our recent experiences with Ian, we are now aware of what we did not know before Ian and so knew this time how to save some of it from the flood water damage, that new knowledge resulted in less total damaged properties but still all properties affected in some negative way that required rehab. The islands and coast of the mainland were hit the worst. Sanibel, Captiva, Matlacha, Pine Island and Ft. Myers Beach were completely submerged by the sea, Pine Island was the only island not completely submerged but about 75% of it was completely submerged! Buildings just sticking out of the water are all you see on the islands. The tide just went right over them like they were little sandbars.
It's like a tsunami wave that is very powerful and fast-moving, pushing everything in its path out of its way like things are merely little toy cars. The force of the surge knocks down huge mature trees like toothpicks. It takes a vehicle floating away like it is an empty plastic bottle. Knocks out walls on buildings with ease. Turns simple lightweight items into hard-hitting powerful missiles just like the high winds do, things can go through plywood walls instantly upon impact. I saw a palm frond, (a palm tree branch that had fallen on the ground) to be like a missile that hit a house and embedded itself in the exterior wall of that house leaving it nailed into the plywood wall and exterior siding and sticking straight out.
Another house I saw had a coconut embedded in its exterior wall. Ventilated exterior soffit panels blow off easily and become flying gulitene blades that could probably cut someone's head off. As structures are being ripped apart by winds and waters nails and screws go flying through the air like bullets. It is crazy what you see and totally traumatizing for me. The sound of the winds outside was like hearing some animal moaning and groaning in agony for nearly 12 hours. On top of all that Milton also set a new record for our area as it spawned 41 tornados in 2 and a half hours! There are no building codes to resist a tornado. Brand new homes had roofs torn off easily and mobile/manufactured and wood frame homes were completely demolished, unrecognizable.
Lots of destruction including nearly completely destroying the entire landscape environment. If the winds did not demolish or knock down trees and plants everywhere then the salt water surge killed them with a salt burn. Every tree left standing is now brown or dead. All the green grass burns up. Nothing is left normal. There is so much ruined it brings tears to my eyes. And the waters, everything the powerful surge pushed in its path it also takes back to the sea when the wave retreats back off land. Think about that! Unimaginable amounts of debris go into the waterways. Fish too, they get pushed in with the surge and many remain on land and die as the surge goes back out and then you see dead fish laying all over the place.
Milton took out power for me for just 4 days as compared to Ian it was no power for 17 days. Still, no power for any length of time is hard to deal with. You don't know when it will return. The first day, the morning after the storm(s) without power, is spent driving around (if you can drive around) looking for ice and a power source to keep your phone charged as it becomes your lifeline in an emergency like this. Second day with no power, more ice, limit driving to save gas, find gas, make a fire to eat and boil water for coffee, conserve drinking water and figure out ways to do what used to be regular things like flush a toilet or wash yourself.
The more troubling part of no power is bad guys begin to loot property and gunshots are heard constantly. The Wild West returns. Can't find a cop to save your life! You're on your own literally until power is restored. Clear the road(s) yourself to be able to drive your car without getting 4 flat tyres from all the nails, broken glass, and debris that is lying all over the roads and walkways. There are no emergency services that can reach you in these first few aftermath days due to debris on roads, mud or sand-covered roads, bridges and causeways damaged or literally swept away by the seawater surge, and no power for people also means no power for emergency personnel. They run on generators and they too lost vehicles and had some kind of building damage.
You must be prepared, evacuated or not, to have the supplies needed to sustain your life in some manner or you're not going to make it through the initial aftermath. This is my reality and now since these 4 hurricanes hit us in such a short time. So many people have woken up to the truth of climate change/global warming now. God is allowing it, shaking us to wake up! Still, sadly deniers are remaining. How that is I do not know but it is.
In my state, though they have become the minority, and you will be hard-pressed to find someone who is not saying climate change is really happening, regardless of the heating cause, it is happening! In response to the past 20 years of climate change local government here is constantly increasing required elements in our building codes. Seawall elevations have been raised by almost 2 feet, our hurricane season got extended to one month longer than it used to be, flood zones have expanded, building codes change constantly requiring more ways to strengthen structures, and so insurance companies are going bankrupt from having to cover damages to older buildings not up to new codes.
This 3 hurricane summer has really negatively changed things up here in SWFL, the real estate market is practically at a standstill. How many times can you rehab from a flood before you give up?! A huge majority hit that mindset 2 weeks ago after 3 more floods since Ian. Now everyone wants to sell their property and leave the area. We have so many homes for sale and no buyers. Who is going to buy this? I am a realtor, one of my sellers lost his place from Ian 2 years ago and now is trying to sell the vacant land. 8 months and only 2 inquiries when it was first listed 8 months ago, since then not one call.
Denial sets in I guess, my seller who is a big climate change believer doesn't want to lower the price to try to sell because he thinks this is merely a 20-year cycle and will go away for another 20-year cycle. Let's wait and see he says, wait and see? Haven't we just done that I thought?! We have waited 8 months and we have seen 3 more floods and hurricane and tornado damage to the area. Wait and see? Ouch! That will surely come back to bite him right in the ass because we are going to see that this is not a pattern cycle of 20 years bad then 20 years good, no, it is a 20-year pattern of extremely increased storm activity and flooding. They forget that part.
The flooding part! We never ever used to flood from a hurricane, now we do every time. Why is that? Because as I said above, seas have risen at least 2 feet in the last 20 years, that's why we will continue to see flooding with every tropical system now and in the future. There's more water! My advice to potential new sellers is, to just get your money back and get out. If we can even do that at this late hour! No kidding, I think a real estate collapse is in progress now. There are no profits to be made, just get out. Well, not many receive that advice well, but I do have a few that agree. It will grow as people get tired of waiting for something that never comes ... that high sales price I mean. It's troubling for me to know this because I too want to leave this area.
Right now, 2 weeks since Milton, I'm living without air conditioning again, my carport blew away so no shade from that for my car, and my lanai screen door is bent open from the wind so I have it bungee corded to keep it closed, the mould is bothering me terribly, my jobs have reduced too much (not much work to be had), I have taken in a house guest because their place is unliveable and awaiting funds to rebuild, my place is liveable but the roof needs repairs and all the electrical wiring does not work, and my landlord has no insurance on my place and is unable to financially keep up with repairing from these storms.
So many like me out there. So we live in the ruins and it sucks! But sadly a part of you becomes subliminally acquainted with the reduced living standards and you begin to forget what normal is. I find this happening to me at times. It's weird! It seems all we do now for more than 2 years is clean up from a flood. Reconstruct your dwelling. Rip it out and replace it.
So if anyone is still wondering if global warming and climate change are real, please visit my state for some evidence. Come down from May to November and feel what 120F feels like every day. Experience the frequency of our hurricanes and all that does to you. We can use the tourism business!
Thank you, Hawkeye
Thank you, Hawkeye, and please, stay safe.
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