Resilience, Community, Innovation

Hurricane Ian Six Months Later (English and Spanish)

03/27/2023 4:00 PM EST

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The following graphics in English (left) and Spanish (right) provide Hurricane Ian recovery updates six-months post-disaster. Courtesy of Philanthropy-FL. These may be shared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hurricane Ian by the Numbers (English and Spanish)

03/17/2023 1:45 PM EST

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The following graphics in English (left) and Spanish (right) list federal recovery amounts for Hurricane Ian as of March 17, 2023. Courtesy of Philanthropy-FL. These may be shared.

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Three Months Later: The State of Hurricane Ian Recovery

12/13/2022 11:30 AM EST

 

FEMA Funding Obligations as of 12/13/2022

Total Individual & Households Program Dollars Approved = $816,825,443.51

Total Public Assistance Grants Dollars Obligated = $414,755,411.47

 

Highlights from the FEMA Hurricane Ian Recovery Update (12/12/2022):

• Recovery "By the Numbers"

  • Breakdown of $3.69B of federal support in the form of grants, disaster loans, and flood insurance payments

  • This includes $1.2B paid out for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims. NFIP claims are estimated to reach between $3.7-5.2B

• Seven FL counties receiving direct housing assistance

• More ownership and occupancy verification documents accepted means more qualifying applicants

• You may qualify for an advance payment from the National Flooding Insurance Program

• Public assistance available for houses of worship

 

Hurricane Ian Insured Losses Bring Global Natural Catastrophe Total to $115B

The Swiss Re Institute recently announced that with Hurricane Ian's estimated insured losses coming in at $50-65B, the total insured losses for natural catastrophes around the world has reached an estimated $115B for 2022. The 10-year average is $81B.

 

This makes Hurricane Ian the single largest loss-causing event of the year to date (behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005), among other extreme global events this year like winter storms in Europe, flooding in Australia and South Africa, and hailstorms in France.

 

This also makes 2022 the second consecutive year in which the estimated insured losses cost more than $100B, continuing the trend of a 5-7% average annual increase over the past decade.

 

According to Martin Bertogg, Head of Catastrophe perils at Swiss Re, "Extreme weather events have led to high insured losses in 2022, underpinning a risk on the rise and unfolding on every continent. Urban development, wealth accumulation in disaster-prone areas, inflation and climate change are key factors at play, turning extreme weather into ever rising natural catastrophe losses."

 

"When Hurricane Andrew struck 30 years ago, a USD 20 billion loss event had never occurred before – now there have been seven such hurricanes in just the past six years."

 

The estimated loss for 2022 demonstrates the need for a more "forward-looking" approach for all perils, according to the Swiss Re press release. For example, flood and hail are considered "secondary perils" that receive less industry attention, but model and data availability for these disasters need to be upscaled nonetheless in order to prepare for and manage their risk properly.

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Damage Assessments Continue. One Community Survived Ian Unscathed 

10/07/2022 10:35 AM EST

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Coastal Virginia avoided major flooding forecasted earlier this week due to changes in the wind direction.

 

President Biden toured many storm-ravaged areas of Florida on Wednesday. He spoke at a press conference with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis where they both stated the magnitude of the storm and necessary recovery efforts. Both praised the other for their efforts and made clear Florida would get all the aid needed to rebuild stronger.

 

As power is finally restored to some of the last Florida residents, many communities are still assessing the exact extent of the damage. Some inland areas or areas not under high flood risk lacked flood insurance and face difficult rebuild with no payouts. 

 

Among all this damage, one community demonstrates a possible version of a sustainable future. Babcock Ranch, Florida is a planned community located 30 miles inland from Florida’s west coast and is designed to withstand large hurricanes. Its solar arrays kept the lights on, and house infrastructure design kept the winds and flooding at bay. While this level of investment may be out of reach for many Florida communities, it serves as a test site for strategies that could be implemented across the state to increase their resilience to future storms.

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Florida Still Flooding; Virginia is Inundated; Cuba Asks for Aid

10/02/2022 9:45PM EST

 

A phenomenon known as “Compound Flooding” is causing many inland and coastal Florida communities to remain flooded or become flooded again after initial flooding recedes. This is the result of blocked river flows from initial flooding which leads to large amount of discharge and drainage post disaster which can then cause water to build up or be pushed back upriver.

 

Updates as of Sunday Evening:

 

• Around 720,000 people still lack power in Florida

• The death toll in from Hurricane Ian has risen to 80 in Florida and 4 in North Carolina

• Many barrier islands, including Pine Island, still lack power, water, or any overland connection to the mainland

• Damage to the sewer system in central Florida is causing Orlando residents to have to conserve water

• Many counties in Florida remain under a “Boil Water Notice” to make water safe to drink

 

Virginia is seeing sustained rain, inundating the ground, and prolonging the risk of flooding. Some coastal areas in Virginia will experience extreme high tides in the early morning at around 3 feet over baseline, around the levels seen there during Hurricane Sandy. Coastal and low-lying areas have closed schools for Oct. 3 and major cities and counties have closed facilities and warned residents.

 

In the aftermath Hurricane Ian, Cuba’s government has asked the United States for aid. Tensions are high in Cuba as the lack of power throughout the island, caused by the hurricane, has heightened frustrations over underlying struggles of lack of food, fuel, and medicine. Cuba stated it would utilize U.S. aid to bolster emergency management measures including hospitals, water pumping stations, and sanitation. However, Cuba’s crackdown on protestors is not helping their case for aid in this new period of engagement with the U.S. Stronger U.S.-Cuba relations and aid could prove vital for Cuba if it is to address the underlying stressors and vulnerable infrastructure systems exposed by Hurricane Ian.

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Ian’s Second Landfall

10/01/2022 10:10 PM EST

 

Flood warnings remained in parts of Florida as South Carolina received a revived but stunted category 1 Ian with 50-80 mph sustained winds.

 

• As of Friday evening, 200,000 homes and business were without power in South Carolina.

• 157,000 customers are out of power in NC

• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina saw the largest storm surges

• 2 inches of rain and heavy winds across the piedmont region caused flooding as well as uprooted trees and downed powerlines

 

Despite being a weaker storm than when it hit Florida, Ian still caused some coastal destruction in South Carolina as well as treacherous inland conditions from the heavy winds and rains.

 

Estimates of over $100 billion in damages including $63 billion in privately insured losses place Hurricane Ian in the company of the most costly US storms including Hurricane Andrew at $55.7 billion and Katrina at $163 billion, adjusted for inflation.

 

As communities continue to assess the damages and begin recovery, many residents will experience intense hardship from lack of insurance coverage to sheer insurmountable costs. Damages in some areas are total and will require not only serious financial aid but also public discourse and planning to determine how they should rebuild that is economically responsible in the face of similar storms. Care is needed to ensure a Just long-term recovery that helps Florida communities become more resilient to a changing world.

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Hurricane Ian Overwhelms Florida

10/01/2022 9:10 AM EST

 

Hurricane Ian touched every person, place, and thing in Florida in one of the most engulfing hurricanes to make landfall in Florida in recent memory. 

 

Before it hit Florida, Hurricane Ian trudged over western Cuba as a category 3 storm. It left the entire island of 11 million without power, flooded the coasts with rain and storm surge, and destroyed large areas of cropland that were producing Cuba’s main export, tobacco.

 

Ian strengthened into a category 4 storm before making landfall on the south-central west coast of Florida and bringing  12-18 feet of storm surge throughout Gasparilla Sound and Charlotte Harbor which lay behind it.

 

Rain totals averaging between 9 and 16 inches in less than two days flooded inland Florida counties like Orange County with similar severity.

 

As of this morning, 1.3 million Floridians still did not have power. Latest counts have at least 34 people as confirmed to have been killed by the storm in Florida. Satellite imagery shows over 80,000 properties affected by the flood waters.