For the past two decades, Joe has resided in Fort Myers Beach.
He said in an interview that he had never weathered a storm like this.
We actually left forCharley, but I stayed for the storm. It is worse. This was much better than the previous one. There is absolutely nothing.
There was a 15-foot storm surge five years ago. The storm's destructive power was reduced by a late shift in the storm's path.
Southwest Florida has not been as lucky as other parts of the country. After straying eastward from initial forecasts, the storm put Fort Myers in its path. The National Hurricane Center predicts a storm surge of up to 16 feet.
There is live coverage of Hurricane Ian.
Traffic and beach conditions can be seen on the storm cam.
See the NWS radar to see where Ian is.
In order to protect equipment and building materials that could not be moved off-island, Orlandini decided to ride out the storm in his Palermo Circle home.
There are a lot of projects right here and a lot at stake. We decided to stay because we wanted to keep an eye on it.
The storm turned into a disaster. At 10:45 a.m., he said he was driving a forklift. A wave came towards him from the beach. The machine could have driven through three and a half feet of water but the flooding was four feet deep.
He retreated to his home with his family. He said there is 112 feet of water flooding his ground floor with more outside pushing against his doors.
It's coming up and coming up. It's unbelievable.
Lee County opened shelters and ordered people to leave certain areas. It is not safe to travel on roads, so officials are urging any residents still at home to stay indoors.
The article was originally published on the News-Press.
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