Sections of the Sanibel Causeway were eroded and the bridge collapsed from Hurricane Ian. Aerial photos show the impacts on the left compared to before the storm on the right.
The astonishing photos after the destruction of Hurricane Ian are available online where you can zoom in and out on particular locations similar to Google Earth. The photos were posted on NOAA’s Hurricane IAN Aerial Imagery Response website.
The damage showcases the wide extent of the storm’s reach from sand covering up airfield runways to the decimation of piers and marinas. The images show the cataclysmic failure of the Sanibel Causeway bridge after storm surge wiped out several sections of the road.
Recommended Videos
You can compare it to prestorm maps which show million-dollar yachts docked along the marina before the hurricane twisted the docks and piled boats on top of each other.
Twisted docks in Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian.Docks in Fort Myers Beach before Hurricane Ian.Fort Myers Beach pier after Hurricane Ian.Fort Myers Beach pier before Hurricane Ian.Sanibel island before.Erosional ruts on the beach and condo roof damage after Ian on Sanibel Island.Streets before Ian on Sanibel Island.Brown water on flooded streets after Ian on Sanibel IslandBonita Beach, notice the tennis courts and mobile home park below it.Those homes were wiped into the mangroves across the inlet and the asphalt roads were caked with sand.Landing strip on North Captiva Island.Storms surge pushed the white sand into the private grass runway after Ian.
Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.
After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.
