NewsBreak Original

Last September, Florida faced its deadliest storm since 1935. Hitting Southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Ian turned Fort Myers Beach into “ground zero,” Emergency Management Director John Ward said.

Lee County authorities recently announced that they found a sunken sailboat off the Lee County Coast that contained the body of a man missing since Ian Struck. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, acting on a call by a worker at the Salty Sam’s Marina, confirmed on Thursday the marina’s claim that a sunken sailboat which they hadn’t seen before, was indeed located just off the coast, in Lee County waters.

South West Florida was in the path of Hurricane Ian and as someone who lived in the center of the early projected storm path, I was suddenly fascinated by hurricane prediction models. Like all Floridians, I wanted to know why are there so many models? And why do some seem better at predicting the storm's track than others? As of late, the European hurricane model has been appearing more accurate than its American counterpart. Some scientists believe this to be due to the fact that the European model takes into account a wider range of atmospheric data. Additionally, the European model uses a higher-resolution grid, which allows for greater accuracy in predictions.

2023: A Happy Renewal Year for Sanibel and Captiva Island. Ribbon Cutting for Sanibel Captiva Island VacationsPhoto bySanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce. Starting January 2, 2023 the Sanibel Causeway will reopen to the public as the recovery from Hurricane Ian continues across Sanibel and Captiva Island. Many reach out to social media for status updates on their favorite local shops, hotels and restaurants, it’s honest to share that there has been much loss. A handful of businesses moved off-island to reopen in the Fort Myers Bell Tower Shops, while others were lucky enough to be able to restore and reopen on the island.

Richard Shuette and his wife Janet have lived in their home in LaBelle for 22 years and were used to doing things themselves. But age has limited what they can do. “The older I get the harder it is for me to do things,” said Richard.

The newly opened disaster recovery center in Brevard County, Florida opened today, Dec. 18. at the Cocoa, Florida Agricultural Center, according to the FEMA website. **This article is based on information sourced from news, informational, and federal government websites, cited within the story**

Drone view of the coastline in St. Augustine, Florida.Photo byPhoto by Lance Asper on Unsplash. The first Spanish settlers on the Carolina coast found a land with thriving native towns, abundant wildlife and natural resources. The sandy barrier islands dotted along this coastline were so rich that the Spanish called it "Costa de Oro" or the Gold Coast. These islands have always been prone to natural disasters like hurricanes, but by building homes on them and using them for farming, the Spanish unwittingly made them even more vulnerable. In fact, hurricanes destroyed many of their settlements in 1588 and again in 1667. The Spanish rebuilt their settlements in nearly the same locations — directly in harm's way once again — until another hurricane struck in 1719 and finished whatever was left from the last storm.

‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa of Captiva Island, Florida to Open to the Public Saturday, December 17, 2022. Captiva Island, FL – ‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa announces that the legendary Captiva Island beach resort has received approval to welcome all guests with valid lodging reservations. The resort is located at 15951 Captiva Drive, with ‘Tween Waters consistently ranked among TripAdvisor’s top Captiva destinations.

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - Residents of the Forest Island Park neighborhood in Fort Myers, Florida are frustrated with how long it is taking the county to remove the piles of debris lining the streets of their neighborhoods from Hurricane Ian. One local resident reports “it has been 8-weeks since Hurricane Ian…the air is toxic” from all the piles of trash sitting along the sides of the road. To the point that even some of their pets are becoming ill, they say, likely connected to the piles of moldy, rotting debris. Neighbors in the area report that they have had one trash clean-up following Hurricane Ian, and that was back on October 18th, over a month. Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28, 2022.

'Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa First to Reopen on Captiva Island After Hurricane Ian. In 1926, perhaps inspired by the stories of Teddy Roosevelt fishing the back bay of Captiva, sports fishermen began to regularly journey to a narrow stretch of this unique, wonderful Florida tropical island where — in literally just a few minutes — you could cast east into Pine Island Sound, or west into the Gulf of Mexico. Five years later, this place — aptly named ‘Tween Waters Inn — welcomed its first overnight guests. And a history of hospitality that spans two centuries was born.

The opinion of the author is his own and has no affiliation with the topic that was included. Sources that are used in this article are the following: BestLifeOnline and for information about individuals, he used Wikipedia.

In response to Hurricane Ian's devastation across the state of Florida, the DeVos Family Foundation has announced a donation of $1 million - this is the same family that has injected around $200 million into political donations.

Local health officials in the Florida county devastated by Hurricane Ian report an increase in cases of flesh-eating bacteria illnesses and deaths. An illustration model of Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria.BSIP: Universal Images Group / Getty Images.

The Seminole County in Florida historically floods. However, its residents continue to stay, and recently, Hurricane Ian left over 400 homes inundated. A campground is shown flooded in the wake of Hurricane Ian in Florida.Sean Rayford / AFP.

It seems as if the bad news about all of the problems that have been caused by Hurricane Ian for the state of Florida just keeps on coming. Most of the parts of Florida that were hit the hardest during Hurricane Ian have been seeing nearly double the normal number of infections from flesh-eating bacteria that have been thriving in coastal floodwaters. In fact, according to the Florida Department of Health, there has been 65 cases and one death due to flesh-eating bacteria so far in 2022 compared to the 34 cases that were seen only one year ago in 2021.

At least seven men have reportedly been arrested following the aftermath of Hurricane Ian for allegedly looting. The five men who were found to be looting in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.Supplied / Orange County Sheriff's Office, Florida.

The Lee County river will remain flooded for a while until at least Thanksgiving, and weeks later, hundreds of homes across the area remain underwater. A man with a gas can pleads his case to cross a shallow section of a flooded street at a roadblock near a river in Florida.Sean Rayford / AFP.

As life in Florida begins to return to normal following the death and devastation that was brought by Hurricane Ian, there's a sense that the forthcoming gubernatorial election may be all-but decided - in favor of incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis.