We took a ride in north Naples last night until I ran over something and got a flat tire . What a joy it is changing a tire in 50 mph rain in the dark on a vehicle your unfamiliar with.

Not much damage I saw other than a 22’ boat on the road about a 1/4 mile from 41 that floated up.
Couldn’t get within a 1/4 mile of the beach as the water was too deep .

The Du Rama restaurant a block from the beach in Vanderbilt had water up to the roof yet.

No power but fortunately it’s unseasonably cool out and our cell service is very limited virtually no internet available on them.

Going to ride out to Arcadia in a bit to check on my semi trailer but I don’t have much hope for it being the hurricane hung out right in that area for hours.

Video from webcam yesterday ft meyers beach up till webcam died. Make sure to see from 1 minute on

Cell towers lose power then you lose cell service. Same game with voice over IP phone lines. They have to get the roads clear so the power company can get the power running again. Its going to be a long weekend for anybody over there as the ice runs out, the cleanup begins. I've lived in South Florida for 45 years, I've seen the routine plenty of times and it sucks to be in.

Florida has had 6 insurance companies go broke in 2022 so this will likely break a few more. Last October FEMA re-did the flood insurance rates, some policies went from $1200 a year to $8000! I feel bad for anyone that decided to ditch the coverage due to the increased rates then they get flooded a few months later!

Heartbreaking to hear of the deaths and catastrophic damage........................tough to witness even from a distance. Stay strong Floridians. :flag:

who is reporting death's, I saw 1 posted by weather channel

Per the New York Post this morning:

“This is a life-changing event for all of us,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told “Good Morning America.”“I don’t have confirmed numbers — I definitely know the fatalities are in the hundreds,” he added.

“So far, confirmed in the hundreds,” he said, noting that conditions were too dire for his officers and other rescuers to get a true sense of the disaster.

“There are thousands of people that are waiting to be rescued. And again, cannot get a true assessment until we’re actually on scene assessing each scene, and we can’t access people, that’s the problem,” he said.

—

A very sad situation no matter the outcome.

Governor DeSantis comment:The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that was done has been historic,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press briefing on Thursday morning.

The governor said teams were deployed throughout the region Thursday morning to begin rescue efforts. No official death toll was stated during the briefing, but the governor did clarify a comment made by the Lee County sheriff who said there were likely hundreds of fatalities.

“None of that is confirmed. I think what that is, is there were 911 calls for people saying, ‘hey, the water is rising in my home, I’m going to go up in the attic but I’m really worried,” DeSantis said. “Of course, those folks are now going to be checked on and I think you’ll have more clarity about that in the next day or so as they’re able to go to those locations to determine whether people need services or are able to be rescued.”

The governor said there are two “unconfirmed” fatalities, meaning authorities don’t know if the deaths are linked to the storm.

“Our assumption is it likely is, and so basically, FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] will make that assessment and then that will be reported,” he said.

That escalated quickly!

I have a good friend that lives same area he's across Gasparilla Rd off Keystone Blvd. Last heard from him was 4pm yesterday at that point he had lost most his roof and said shutters won't last longer. Hoping he is ok.

Seeing some drone footage


it is wiped out down there. I mean bad.