TOUGH QUESTIONS

Longboat asks: What if Hurricane Ian hadn’t turned?

Lucky — the word used most often to describe Longboat Key following Hurricane Ian, specifically when compared to Sanibel and Captiva islands. But what if the storm hadn’t altered its course? While it isn’t a question that’s pleasant to contemplate, the town of Longboat Key and the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce deemed it a necessary discussion as a key topic at the 2023 disaster preparedness seminar.

The town hosted its 21st annual seminar June 1, which also marked the official start of the 2023 hurricane season. More than 100 people attended this year’s seminar at the Longboat Key Club Harbourside Ballroom.

This year’s turnout was higher because of outreach efforts and the damage Hurricane Ian caused in communities to the south of the barrier island. In the 2022 Annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey, resident respondents said they were generally unaware of the presence of such a seminar. This prompted commissioners and town staff to take a closer look at how they are getting the word out about such events in hopes of increasing attendance and, in turn, knowledge of its residents on disaster preparedness among other subjects.

Local and state emergency management leadership spoke on the importance of preparation well ahead of a storm, not just in the days directly before. They also emphasized that residents should remember that no storm is the same. Just because a storm affected an area one way in the past does not mean it won’t have different, more drastic effects the next time.

In hopes of encouraging storm readiness and evacuation when ordered, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie looked to strike a healthy amount of fear into seminar attendees.

“If the same approach (as Hurricane Ian) happens here, you need to get off this island,” he said, speaking about what happened on Sanibel and Captiva islands. “Water is not something to be messed with.”

He specifically cited the more than 70 people from Lee County who would likely still be alive had they heeded their local official’s warnings and evacuated their homes on Sanibel and Captiva islands.

“If we’re asking you to evacuate, trust me, there have been a lot of conversations,” Guthrie said. “There has been a lot of data gone over … Ordering an evacuation is probably the single thing that we don’t want to do. We never want to ask people to leave their homes. If we are asking you to do that, we are putting you in an environment where we are saying it is safer to put you on the road than for you to stay in place.”

A CHANGED COURSE, CHANGED LIVES

With its similar population and land mass to Sanibel Island, Longboat Key officials and staff have asked what their barrier island might have looked like had Hurricane Ian not turned. The answer is likely similar to what Sanibel Island is experiencing as its residents continue working toward restoring their homes and businesses.

Hurricane Ian made landfall near Sanibel and Captiva islands with 155 mph sustained winds just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. Winds were just under the cut-off for a Category 5 distinction, which is 157 mph or higher.

The storm sat over both islands for more than four hours, leaving not one building or home unscathed and compromising the one bridge on and off the islands. Winds were coupled with upwards of 12 feet of storm surge.

“Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Captiva were nothing more than a speed bump for that storm,” Guthrie said.

During the seminar, Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce President John Lai showed a video of what the area looked like about a month after the storm hit and business owners and residents were beginning to try to restore their lives.

“On Sept. 28, 246 days ago, the physical, economic and natural landscape of our island and our community was changed,” he said. “Not one private vehicle on our island was spared. If you did stay and you had the gas, after the storm, you couldn’t even go check on neighbors.”

As work continues on the island’s businesses, many of which are small businesses, the chamber’s website has been continually updated with a list of which businesses have reopened their doors. Only 81 businesses of the chamber’s 541 members have been able to open their doors since the storm.

“What we learned through this was we learned to ask for help and to accept it,” he said.

Before the storm, the two islands saw an estimated 219 visitors per day and were having a great year for businesses both in retail and hospitality.

Now, there are only about 1,000 residents on the island compared to the usual 7,500 for this time of year.

“When you’re responsible for the business community and a tourism destination that runs on an economy driven by tourism, with lodging units out of order, it’s almost impossible,” Lai said.

Before the storm, the two islands had about 2,800 lodging units available. Roughly 200 have been able to reopen to tourists. Lai estimates that about 25%, or 700 units, will be available for booking by 2024. Visitor numbers have dropped to about 37 per day.

WHAT LONGBOAT EXPERIENCED Hurricane Ian prompted the first islandwide evacuation on Longboat Key since 2017. It was expected to make landfall not far from its shores.

Damage was minimal, compared to expectations, mostly limited to downed limbs and power lines and minor flooding. The beaches also fared well with town staff observing little to no impact.

Debris pickup and power outages were addressed quickly in comparison to those most affected by the storm.

In the 2022 Annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey, 90% of the 1,348 respondents said they evacuated the island when instructed for Hurricane Ian. Just fewer than 90% of respondents said they would evacuate the island in the future if a Category 3 or higher storm was approaching.

“There has been a lot of data gone over … Ordering an evacuation is probably the single thing that we don’t want to do. We never want to ask people to leave their homes. If we are asking you to do that, we are putting you in an environment where we are saying it is safer to put you on the road than for you to stay in place.”

— Kevin Guthrie, Florida Division of Emergency Management