Naples, FL - Pier Webcam
(www.earthcam.com)
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From the Gulf to about 5-miles inland in the Naples, Florida area (basically everything West of Hwy 75), ground elevation is anywhere from 5 feet to 12 feet above sea level. You don't get to 18 feet and 20 feet elevations until you are West of Hwy 75.
Hurricane Ian is pushing a storm surge from 12 feet to 15 feet above normal sea level + Cat-4 hurricane waves on top of that (add another 10+ feet minimum for wave heights).
Also, some areas of the coastline funnel water into bays and rivers, which causes a dramatic local increase in the storm surge height. During Katrina, Waveland, Mississippi's coastline funneled the storm surge and resulted in a storm surge of 20 feet + waves as it pushed inland over 8-miles in some areas. Entire homes and buildings were submerged during the height of the storm.
Fort Myers and Marco Island may be two areas that get much higher storm surge due to funneling of the water.
praying...have friends there
Hopefully they got to high ground for shelter. They don't need to fully evacuate, but finding a sturdy multi-level concrete parking garage, a well built multi-story public building (hospital, school, etc...) is enough so that they would be safe.
Nobody expected a borderline Cat-5 hurricane... but here we are. A Cat-3 would be relatively safe to stay for, even at elevation of only 10 feet +/-. That's what they were originally projecting. A Cat-5 is an entirely different story. Sturdy building well above 20+ feet above sea level is the only place to be safe other than evacuation. Unfortunately, the storm ramped up in windspeed so quickly that there wasn't time for people who chose to stay... to re-consider.
Always know that you don't have to go 200 miles inland for safe shelter. Most often, you can find safe shelter in office buildings, or civic buildings, hotel parking garages and other things. Don't be afraid to break a few rules (or a window, door, turnstile) in order to find safety from the storm. You can always apologize later. Meanwhile, if you find yourself sheltering in a large office building or a public official's building... remember to find the most important person's office and then put your muddy feet on their desk. You get so few chances to do that in this life... so take advantage.
p.s. .... your user name checks out. :D
Ian has cleared out the bay in the Tampa area, and I don't want to think about what it will be like when the tide comes back in. Hopefully people will be smart enough to stay off the sand there and stay away until everything is back in.
It's something people don't consider - there is the initial storm surge, but eventually the waters get back to their regular levels and tide patterns and that time is just as dangerous for flooding.