SOUTHWEST FLORIDA – Hurricane Ian’s most damaging winds began hitting Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status.
Fueled by warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Ian grew to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane overnight with top winds of 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
LATEST UPDATES: ‘Extremely dangerous’ eyewall of Category 4 Hurricane Ian moving onshore
Members of the media and area residents began posting videos and photos on social media showing the impact as the storm hit the area, including what some are calling a “reverse storm surge” where the water was sucked out of Tampa Bay.
News4JAX will post the images below and update this story throughout the day:
The Naples Fire-Rescue Department posted this Facebook Live showing the current conditions in Naples. Rescue trucks are unusable due to the storm surge. They have already assisted with multiple water rescues.
Video from Matt Tilman of Bayshore Blvd in Tampa. The bay being sucked out. #hurricaneian #ian pic.twitter.com/F54Lv1r5KV
— Jordan Steele (@JordanSteele) September 28, 2022
CATASTROPHIC IAN 🌀 | New video from Fort Myers shows the storm surge from #HurricaneIan. Flooding and strong winds are already an issue. https://t.co/qD25ITquuO | #Hurricane #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/Yyp7nP34vU
— News4JAX (@wjxt4) September 28, 2022
Powerful storm surge southern tip Pine Island FL eye wall Hurricane Ian @accuweather @ChrisFLTornado pic.twitter.com/Osn1u5kpa4
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) September 28, 2022
New video just in from Fort Myers, FL shows swimmers getting into the storm surge as Hurricane #Ian approaches.
— Zach Covey (@ZachCoveyTV) September 28, 2022
This is EXTREMELY dangerous. I can’t believe I have to say this…. DO NOT GET INTO THE WATER! pic.twitter.com/jsoUPvX8uC
NOAA satellites captured footage of the inside of #HurricaneIan's eye as it approached Florida. https://t.co/QvkLJMfz8c pic.twitter.com/ZsGj3o7ynn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 28, 2022
#HUGE storm surge in Sanibel. This is 1-mile from the coast, and conditions are deteriorating. #HurricaneIan #Hurricane #flwx #stormsurge #Sanibel https://t.co/8uRl73qUIj pic.twitter.com/9wkvfv4rSe
— Chris Gloninger (@ChrisGloninger) September 28, 2022
JUST IN | Emergency vehicles will no longer respond from Center Road south in Sarasota County, winds too strong. @WFLA pic.twitter.com/UlgvJ6zgr9
— Beth Rousseau (@WFLABeth) September 28, 2022
Key West pier. Some of us go out before a storm to see the waves. Key West is expecting storm surge 1-3 feet on top of king tides Wednesday. #Ian #keywest #southflorida pic.twitter.com/J2OAQvtS67
— Gwen Filosa (@KeyWestGwen) September 27, 2022
Lanai sent airborne in Cape Coral, Florida by Hurricane #Ian’s winds.
— Nash Rhodes (@NashWX) September 28, 2022
Video sent in by a WINK viewer pic.twitter.com/TrbmocjL9A
Naples Pier Yesterday vs. #Naples Pier Right Now. #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/RcgDkNB9JG
— Matthew Bunch (@matthewsbunch) September 28, 2022
This is not good. Parts of Fort Myers Beach are already underwater. A woman who lives on Matanzas Court just sent me this video of her neighborhood. This is right off Estero Blvd. @NBC2 pic.twitter.com/duz05bLtzf
— Kyla Galer (@kylagaler) September 28, 2022
Dangerous and damaging storm Surge in Naples, FL from Naples Fire Dept. #HurricaneIan #flwx pic.twitter.com/ctpi0GcnQe
— Mike Clay (@Mike_Clay) September 28, 2022
Currently in Fort Myers, Florida. Video by Loni Architects #flwx #Ian #hurricane pic.twitter.com/8nfncFlG9G
— Kaitlin Wright (@wxkaitlin) September 28, 2022
Live video on the @weatherchannel from @SevereStudios showing dangerous storm surge moving into Fort Myers, Florida. #Ian #FLwx pic.twitter.com/g5kkCDCGWg
— Collin Gross (@CollinGrossWx) September 28, 2022
Remarkable images coming from @AliVelshi and our NBC News team in Naples, more than 7 hours before high tide even hits. pic.twitter.com/AQRdbtlac6
— Gary Grumbach (@GaryGrumbach) September 28, 2022
NEW: #HurricaneIan Video #SWFL
— Jeff Butera (@ABC7Jeff) September 28, 2022
* Fire on a Naples Street
(Credit: Christine Cato Yeow)
* Punta Gorda Bridge
(Credit: Joe Lang)
* Flooding at Bonita Bill's/Fort Myers Beach
(Credit: Ben Alderman) pic.twitter.com/eKoA0345Am
Historic storm surge event unfolding in Ft. Myers-Punta Gorda area:#Ian https://t.co/ycIlI8Zjtf
— David Heckard (@DavidHeckard) September 28, 2022
As Hurricane Ian moves ashore, streets in Naples Florida are quickly filling up with water. The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning that some area could see as many as 18 feet of storm surge. #linkinbio #hurricaneian #ian #hurricane #florida pic.twitter.com/XgZICVNi37
— LX News (@NBCLX) September 28, 2022
In the eye wall of #Hurricane #Ian in Fort Myers. We're live on @weatherchannel along with @StephanieAbrams and @JimCantore #HurricanIan pic.twitter.com/gSBdmAUjWX
— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) September 28, 2022
Power Line explosion footage in Naples, FL #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/xMquuVVY7W
— Hurricane Ian Footage (@IanFootage) September 28, 2022
Rushing floodwaters through the streets near Barefoot Beach.
— Juliana Mejia (@julianamwx) September 28, 2022
Sent in by @winknews viewer Shannon Dye. #Ian #HurricaneIan @stormhour @spann pic.twitter.com/FWtASOQmWr
