The Positive Side to Disasters and Tragedy
Monday, October 10th, 2022 CatastropheBy all accounts, we were extremely lucky. Just 24 hours before landfall, Hurricane Ian was expected to come ashore just south of Tampa Bay, putting my home in Bradenton in the projected direct path of a very significant storm.
As the day wore on, the forecast shifted south a bit, and as you know, Hurricane Ian slammed into south Florida, devastating towns like Port Charlotte and Ft. Myers.
The northern edge of this massive storm’s eyewall passed about 40 miles south of us. We weren’t out of danger, but it was significantly reduced. And we also had a chance to experience the positive side of a tragic day.
A very slow-moving storm, our area experienced hurricane-force winds for 9 hours, with wind gusts up to 120 miles an hour. Our power held on through part of the storm, giving out just a couple of hours after landfall.
By 5:30 the following morning, the winds had died down enough for me to get our generator safely outside and running. Then, we simply waited until sunrise to see what the final outcome of the storm was to be.
