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Desert_Captain's avatar
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Sep 30, 2022

The impact of Ian...

The incredible impact of hurricane Ian won't be known for quite some time but it will indeed be far reaching. Living in Arizona, one of the three primary snowbird destination {Florida and the Rio Grande Valley being the other two} we will be seeing its effects here very soon.

I am guessing that a very large percentage of the RV parks in Florida will have been significantly damaged with many completely out of business at least in the short term and probably off line for much if not most of the 2022/2023 season. With the damage so devastating and widespread getting things repaired will be a nightmare.

Many folks will be needing to find new destinations which will impact RGV and Arizona. I would expect a huge increase in these areas almost immediately as October usually is the start of Snowbird season. Reservations may go from being a convenience to a necessity for many and I doubt prices will go anywhere but up.

Not being snowbirds but active campers year round I anticipate sites being at a premium for the season. So what changes are you Snowbirds making to deal with the impact of Ian? Best of luck to one and all.

:C
  • Our first two warm weather stops are in southern Georgia, and both state parks got off with minimal to no damage. One is closed due to potential causeway flooding that shouldn't last long, and the other only closed their boat ramp. We're still waiting to see how our scheduled Florida state parks made out.
  • Disney world and Universal is open today in phases. Those hard hit areas are truly hard hit but large areas of the state will recover quickly. It is similar to the fires in California where the entire state is not on fire but news media seem to indicate otherwise.

    Many snowbirds go to Florida because you can't find what Florida has in Arizona or hill country.
  • I think the recovery period for Florida RV parks will be years...unfortunately.
  • The Ft Myers Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte area is wiped out, lot of RVs around there. Orlando north/south will probably be OK after a recovery period. South and north of there will be OK by next month if not sooner. Gainesville for example is already back to mostly normal.
    The panhandle is unaffected.