DOI: 10.17603/ds2-3pc2-7p82
title: StEER: Hurricane Ian Early Access Reconnaissance Report (EARR)
title: in StEER - Hurricane Ian

description: Hurricane Ian made landfall near Punta Gorda, FL as a Category 4 hurricane on September 28, 2022, subjecting the Florida west coast to storm surge as high as 13 ft (relative to the mean high water datum) and peak wind gusts of at least 130 mph. The results were catastrophic for a region that had last faced a direct hit from a major hurricane in 2004 (Hurricane Charley). Early estimates indicate economic losses may be as high as $113 billion, and, more tragically, at least 148 fatalities are attributed to Hurricane Ian. This Early Access Reconnaissance Report (EARR) is StEER’s second product from this event and provides an  (i) overview of Hurricane Ian,  (ii) StEER’s Level 2 response data collection methodology and chronology,  (iii) preliminary findings based on the observations generated by its first Field Assessment Structural Team (FAST-1), and (iv) recommendations for continued study of this event by StEER and the wider natural hazard engineering community.  Note that all observations and findings provided in this EARR should be considered preliminary and are based on the limited scope of the FAST-1.
description: Eighteen years after Hurricane Charley made landfall in 2004, Hurricane Ian made landfall in nearly the same location, also as a Category 4 hurricane. Unlike Hurricane Charley (2004), water more so than wind was the impetus behind the disaster that unfolded. Despite being a below-design-level wind event, the large windfield drove a powerful storm surge as much as 13 ft high (relative to the NAVD8 vertical datum) in the barrier islands of Sanibel, Ft. Myers Beach, and Bonita Beach. Flooding was extensive along not only the Florida coast, but also well inland into low-lying areas as far north as Duval County and the storm’s second landfall site in South Carolina. As such, Hurricane Ian will likely be one of the costliest landfalling hurricanes of all time in the US, claiming over 100 lives. 

The impacts from Hurricane Ian were most severe in the barrier islands from the combination of storm surge and high winds, with many buildings completely washed away, and others left to deal with significant scour and eroded foundations. Several mobile/manufactured home parks on the barrier islands fared particularly poorly, offering little to no protection to anyone unfortunate enough to shelter in them. The damage was not restricted to buildings, as the causeways out to the barrier islands were washed away in multiple locations. In contrast, wind damage from Hurricane Ian appears less severe overall relative to other Category 4 storms, perhaps due to a combination of actual wind intensity being less than Category 4 at the surface at landfall, and the improvements in building construction that have occurred since Hurricane Charley struck 18 years earlier. It is notable that extensive losses were in part driven by decades-long construction boom of residential structures in Ft. Myers and Cape Coral since the 1950s and 1960s, expanding communities and neighborhoods encroaching upon vulnerable coastlines. Beyond serving as an important event to validate current and evolving standards for coastal construction, Hurricane Ian provides a clarion call to reconsider the ramifications of Florida's coastal development under changing climate.

This project encompasses the products of StEER's response to this event: Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR), Early Access Reconnaissance Report (EARR) and Curated Dataset.