The impact of Ian...

[Desert_Captain]

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

[bgum]

FEMA has been known to commander entire rv parks for more than a year. The power companies will come in and take over entire motels for their workers. Guess what location gets power first right up there with hospitals and wally world. Sleeping in comfort. First hand witness after Katrina. In a large city a federal agency needed several power connections to temporary trailers. They were told it would be several days before they could be made. The feds paid the permit fee and made the drops themselves. Power was on that afternoon. The feds have very capable people when necessary. If I had reservations in an affected area I would be nervous about them being canceled and given to a higher need.

[thomasmnile]

Some of the collateral effects of old Ian and the biblical rainfall he visited on much of Central Florida:

Failure of a number of water and sewage infrastructure facilities around the area. The City of Orlando has a restrict water usage order in effect, meaning they pretty much don't want you putting any water down any drain that connects to the sewer system. A 36" sewage force main transporting wastewater from 3 pump stations around the city failed catastrophically early Sunday morning. We experienced an 8" water main and 30" stormwater drain failure directly in front of our apartment Friday night, complete with a car that drove into the hole because the lighting is so dim he couldn't tell what was in front of him; no water geyser.

Given that Florida is fundamentally atop a limestone "sponge" and the subsurface soils are currently like oatmeal (especially the interior), I fear as the groundwater table lowers and things dry out, there's gonna be a whole lot of sinkholes going on.....and more water/sewer/stormwater/ natural gas line failures; or simply the earth moving under our feet.

[Bears_Den]

Thank you Charlestonsouthern a lot of people will be hurting here for a very longtime. I have a 30 ft TT that I just put a family of 4 in so they can have a roof over their heads. It’s times like this when you have to put others before yourself. I was one of the lucky ones, roof damage, tree and limb damage but I’m thankful I still have a house. My brother and sister in law lost everything and they’re both in their 80s. Thank you again.

[charlestonsouth]

Bears Den, hope you won’t worry so much about that; you guys and gals have enough to worry about already. FEMA and other government agencies will take care of that particular problem because of the size of their pocketbooks and authority. All I can do for you right now is donate money to the Red Cross and to the soup kitchens and meal stations. God bless you.

[Michelle_S]

Many of the Florida Parks are booked in the Spring for the coming Winter season. The park we stay at, just about all the sites are booked in February for a November arrival. And some of us can't just stay home because our home is where we park it.

[Pbutler97]

Bears Den wrote:
It would really be nice if those parks that didn’t sustain damage would put up the Floridians who will be inconvenienced for months or years. I know it would be an inconvenience for you snowbirds to stay home one winter while we try to get our state back to the paradise you all like to winter in. There is a lot to be done and the less people getting in the way the easier the task will be.

Having been born and bred in Florida, I'm fairly certain that is not happening, especially so with today's me first mentality.

[Bears_Den]

It would really be nice if those parks that didn’t sustain damage would put up the Floridians who will be inconvenienced for months or years. I know it would be an inconvenience for you snowbirds to stay home one winter while we try to get our state back to the paradise you all like to winter in. There is a lot to be done and the less people getting in the way the easier the task will be.

[joebedford]

The park we're going to next month in Eustis (central Florida) wasn't damaged at all.

[Parrothead_Mike]

Thankfully Ian went well south of Tampa since we stay the winter about 80-90 miles north of Tampa in Crystal River. In years past we've camped at Oscar Schere SP just north of Venice and Mayaka SP as well as Riverside RV Park along the Peace River toward Arcadia. Those parks are likely in rough shape at the present time.

I suspect that folks that left their RVs south of I-4 along the Gulf Coast may not have an RV anymore. If those RVs survived the storm they certainly don't have electric and may find a layer of mold on things.

We still have a couple of months left in hurricane season so things could still change in the near future. As Jimmy Buffett said; "You cannot reason with hurricane season."

[Michelle_S]

We winter in South Central Florida in Sebring. Min damage there, but we had three weeks planned on Sanibel Island for October, well that won't happen as there's no way to get there, and won't be for a while.

[NamMedevac_70]

good luck

[Dutch_12078]

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.

[bgum]

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.

[Lwiddis]

I think the recovery period for Florida RV parks will be years...unfortunately.