Storm surge experts assess damage in Florida to help prepare for future threats
Amidst the destruction from Hurricane Ian, storm surge experts with the National Hurricane Center are on the ground assessing damage and gathering data. Their mission is to learn more about Ian's storm surge levels and how to better predict and prepare communities for future storm surge threats.
Assessing post-storm data from Ian to better prepare for future storm surge threats
Jeff Lindner, Director of Hydrologic Operations for Harris County, talks about assessing the damage from Ian to help better prepare for future storms with storm surge threats.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. – It has been two weeks since Hurricane Ian hit Florida, and the scale of the damage still overwhelming.
Ian slammed into the Fort Myers area of Southwest Florida on Sept. 28 as a Category 4 hurricane with 150-mph winds. Those terrible winds pushed ashore feet of water from the Gulf of Mexico that tore across barrier islands and gutted buildings along the coast.
Amidst the destruction, storm surge experts with the National Hurricane Center are on the ground assessing damage and gathering data. Their mission is to learn more about Ian's storm surge levels and how to better predict and prepare communities for future storm surge threats.
Jeff Lindner, director of Hydrologic Operations at the Harris County Flood Control District in Texas, is part of the NHC team surveying storm surge damage in Florida. He said he spoke to residents about why they chose to stay or why they chose to evacuate.
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"A lot of folks have lived here all their life, and they never experienced anything like this, and they never thought they would experience anything like this," he said.
However, it was past experiences for many about what they went through and what they decided to do with Ian that had a lot of influence on their decision to evacuate or not.
Lindner said it is that comprehension of what water can do and how high water can get. But it’s just not along the beach, he adds.
"We saw flooding in some cases about a mile, a mile and a half, two miles inland up to eight or nine feet above the ground," Lindner said. "And that's what we consider, epically on a first-story home, … a life-threatening, unsurvivable storm surge."
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While Lindner travels across Southwest Florida to survey the damage and gather data, he remembers surge issues from Hurricane Ike that changed the lives of everybody that lives on Bolivar Island in Galveston County, Texas.
"Some of the folks down here, I think, were not necessarily prepared for the magnitude of the surge," he said. "And when they realized the gravity of the situation they were in, they did try to leave some of these areas that were being inundated with the storm surge. And obviously, that's too late."
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Lindner said they also need to take a look at what is told to residents in a situation where the water is already coming in. The worst thing people can do is get into a vehicle and try to drive somewhere.
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Image 1 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveys storm surge on Bonita Beach, Florida. There were average stillwater marks of 9 to 11.5 feet above ground level in addition to significant scour of beach and inland sand movement. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 2 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveys storm surge on Bonita Beach, Florida. There were average stillwater marks of 9 to 11.5 feet above ground level in addition to significant scour of beach and inland sand movement. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 3 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveys storm surge on Bonita Beach, Florida. There were average stillwater marks of 9 to 11.5 feet above ground level in addition to significant scour of beach and inland sand movement. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 4 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveys storm surge on Bonita Beach, Florida. There were average stillwater marks of 9 to 11.5 feet above ground level in addition to significant scour of beach and inland sand movement. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 5 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveys storm surge in Bonita Springs and Estero, Florida. Water in this house was 1.5 feet below the roof and located well inland from the coast. There was 9.3 feet of Stillwater level above the ground. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 6 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage on Fort Myers Beach, San Carlos Island, Shell Point and Fort Myers. Stillwater marks ranged from 10 to 15.5 feet above the ground level. He said the damage was equal to Hurricane Micheal in 2018 but over a larger spatial area. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 7 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, said comments from those who stayed in surge areas from his first day of survey said they "went through Charley and didn’t think it would be as bad" and "have lived here all my life and never could have imagined this." A large number of people tried to leave as surge rose and were caught in vehicles, he said. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 8 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, said comments from those who stayed in surge areas from his first day of survey said they "went through Charley and didn’t think it would be as bad" and "have lived here all my life and never could have imagined this." A large number of people tried to leave as surge rose and were caught in vehicles, he said. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 9 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, said comments from those who stayed in surge areas from his first day of survey said they "went through Charley and didn’t think it would be as bad" and "have lived here all my life and never could have imagined this." A large number of people tried to leave as surge rose and were caught in vehicles, he said. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 10 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, said comments from those who stayed in surge areas from his first day of survey said they "went through Charley and didn’t think it would be as bad" and "have lived here all my life and never could have imagined this." A large number of people tried to leave as surge rose and were caught in vehicles, he said. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 11 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveys storm surge in Bonita Springs and Estero, Florida. Water in this house was 1.5 feet below the roof and located well inland from the coast. There was 9.3 feet of Stillwater level above the ground. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 12 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage on Fort Myers Beach, San Carlos Island, Shell Point and Fort Myers. Stillwater marks ranged from 10 to 15.5 feet above the ground level. He said the damage was equal to Hurricane Micheal in 2018 but over a larger spatial area. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 13 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage on Fort Myers Beach, San Carlos Island, Shell Point and Fort Myers. Stillwater marks ranged from 10 to 15.5 feet above the ground level. He said the damage was equal to Hurricane Micheal in 2018 but over a larger spatial area. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 14 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage on Fort Myers Beach, San Carlos Island, Shell Point and Fort Myers. Stillwater marks ranged from 10 to 15.5 feet above the ground level. He said the damage was equal to Hurricane Micheal in 2018 but over a larger spatial area. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 15 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage in west Fort Myers Beach where over 15 feet of water was recorded above ground level. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 16 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage in west Fort Myers Beach where over 15 feet of water was recorded above ground level. ( Jeff Lindner)
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Image 17 of 17Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County, Texas, and director of Harris County Flood Control District, surveyed storm surge damage in west Fort Myers Beach where over 15 feet of water was recorded above ground level. ( Jeff Lindner)
And while authorities continually mention the saying, "Turn around, don’t drown," Linder said the communication of storm surge threats should also be emphasized. As water rises, people should not get in their vehicle and attempt to drive somewhere.
"You have to get up as high as you can get off the ground," Lindner said. "And that's something we're going to have to start taking a look at in these cases where maybe people did not leave the area, but they have to get high enough to get out of that water."