(Bloomberg) — Ian, now a hurricane again, is threatening to carve a new path of destruction through South Carolina Friday when it roars ashore north of Charleston.
The storm will drive a surge of water into the city of 3 to 6 feet (1.8 meters) and drop up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain, according to Mike Doll, a meteorologist at commercial-forecaster AccuWeather Inc.
Power outages will reach far inland as Ian’s winds shake trees and power lines throughout the region. The storm is likely to create an even higher flooding surge further up the coast, with as much as 10 feet of water being pushed on shore in places, Doll said. Around Myrtle Beach, the surge could be also be 3 to 6 feet.
The damage in South Carolina, and the flooding rains inland, will be severe but won’t rival the devastation across Florida, where it may take weeks or months to assess the true cost, Doll said.
“This is going to be among the most devastating hurricanes we have seen in the US,” Doll said. “Is it as bad as Katrina? Probably not, but the coastline in southwest Florida is going to be forever altered from this.”
President Joe Biden has said early indications suggest that there could be a significant death toll. “We’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” Biden said on Thursday.
Orlando Airport, Disney World to Reopen Friday (11 p.m. NY)
Orlando International Airport will resume passenger flights at noon Friday and the Walt Disney World Resort will restart theme park operations in a phased approach starting Friday as the threatening winds and rain move north.
Ian’s winds have intensified to near 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour as the storm was about 185 miles south of Charleston, the National Hurricane Center said in an update.
Florida Sees Remaining Ports Reopening by Saturday (8 p.m. NY)
Ports in Florida that are still shut will reopen by Saturday, and the state is trucking in food, water, ice, blankets, tarp and pet supplies to help people devastated by the storm, Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Thursday evening.
“They will bounce back, but we have to make sure we pave the way for them,” DeSantis said of the people impacted by the hurricane in Southwest Florida.
DeSantis said he anticipates deaths from the storm, but wouldn’t say how many fatalities the state had been able to confirm yet. Trucks are delivering gasoline to fueling stations in the state and utility workers are restoring power to many, but in areas including Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Pine Island the damage is severe enough that blackouts will remain lengthy, he said. The state had more than 2 million customers without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
Ian’s Winds Reach Hurricane Strength Again (5 p.m. NY)
Ian’s wind have strengthened to 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step, Saffir-Simpson scale, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.
The hurricane’s top winds will likely strengthen to 80 mph overnight, however it will still be a Category 1 storm, the hurricane center said.
“Hurricane-force winds are expected across the coasts of South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina beginning early Friday, where a hurricane warning is in effect,” Eric Blake, a forecaster at the center, wrote in his outlook. “Hurricane conditions are possible tonight along the coasts of northeastern Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina where a hurricane watch is in effect.”
Cattle Ranches ‘Are Kind of Wrecked’ (4:42 p.m. NY)
Hurricane Ian swept through about 40% of Florida’s beef cattle country, leaving ranches “kind of wrecked,” Jim Handley, executive vice president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association said by phone from Kissimmee. The key for animals now is for water on pastures to recede so they can resume feeding before hunger becomes critical. “It hammered us pretty good,” Handley said.
While Florida is not a major beef producer, the state provides supplies of young animals to top cattle states such as Texas and Oklahoma.
Utility With Major Outages Had Pole Woes in 2021 (4:26 p.m. NY)
Lee County Electric Cooperative said that 92% of its customers are without power as of Thursday afternoon after Ian swept through the region. One compounding issue may have been the condition of its utility poles.
When the cooperative filed a report to regulators on its storm-hardening efforts earlier this year, it disclosed that 5,904 distribution poles — or 19% of inspected poles on its network — failed inspections last year. The vast majority failed due to rot, decay or other damage. The utility said it repaired or replaced nearly 750 poles in 2021.
The cooperative also said its equipment wasn’t waterproof, although it was designed to be “water resistant” with the majority of its underground facilities, excluding conduits and cables, at or above existing grade, according to its report.
Storm Knocked Out 11% of Florida’s Wireless Networks (3:27 p.m. NY)
Storm damage and power outages knocked out more than 1,500 cell sites, leaving about 11% of Florida’s wireless networks out of service in the wake of Hurricane Ian, according to a status update from the Federal Communications Commission.
The scope of the mobile phone service disruptions span the entire state from the Keys, where Monroe County to Bradford County in northern Florida. So far, most of the severe damage was in western and southern Florida, including Lee and Hendry counties, where about 66% of cell sites are reported to be out of service.
The damage to communication systems also includes disruption to cable and phone company services such as TV, phone and internet. About half a million landline subscribers in the hurricane disaster area are without service, according to the FCC update.
Fertilizer Firm Sees No Chemical Leaks (3:10 p.m. NY)
Fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. found no releases of toxic fertilizer byproduct in the wake of Ian’s landfall, spokesman Bill Barksdale said Thursday by email. The company will continue to inspect sites in the coming days to confirm its initial assessment, he said.
Florida is home to much of America’s production of phosphate fertilizer and Ian’s path came close to Tampa, close to where Mosaic Co. has the bulk of its phosphate facilities. Environmental experts worried the possibility of storm damage poses a serious risk for a toxic spill due to the way phosphate is produced and its byproducts are stored.
Iconic Causeway Damaged from ‘Biblical’ Surge (2:51 p.m. NY)
Sanibel Island off Florida’s Gulf coast was hit with a “biblical storm surge” from Hurricane Ian, which destroyed homes and caused a collapse of the sole road linking the island to mainland, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The hurricane caused extensive damage to the Sanibel Causeway, an iconic trio of two-lane bridges spanning San Carlos Bay to connect the island of Sanibel to the mainland. The storm left the link unusable to vehicle traffic. The governor said there are air and boat operations to rescue those who are still stranded on the island, which is home to about 6,000 people.
Sanibel Island, a 25-mile drive from Fort Myers, is a popular tourist destination with many people visiting during the winter months.
Utility Uses Drones to Assess Damage (2:38 p.m. NY)
Florida’s largest utility said it will provide estimates for when power will be restored within 24 hours of assessing damage, though it will take longer for hard-hit areas, especially where Ian made landfall. Florida Power & Light has 21,000 people in the field working to assess damage and restore power.
“In areas impassable due to floodwater or debris, we will use a fleet of drones to assess damage,” company representative Bryan Garner said at an afternoon news briefing. The NextEra Energy Inc. unit invested in storm hardening for its grid during the past decade, which included burying infrastructure and replacing wooden poles with concrete ones.
“That said, no grid is hurricane proof,” Garner said. “Hurricane Ian impacted almost the entire peninsula of Florida. Some areas, like southwest Florida, had catastrophic damage.”
Florida Gas Stations Wait for Power to Return (2:15 p.m. NY)
Florida gas stations that were in Ian’s path are closed while others outside the cone of destruction may face disruption as suppliers wait for the power to return and roads to clear.
Close to 11% of Florida’s gas stations were without fuel Thursday, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. All of the stations between Fort Meyers and Naples were closed, Ned Bowman, executive director of the Florida Fuel Marketers Association, said in an interview. The state has about 7,400 retail stations, he said.
Fuel racks in Jacksonville were still closed, while flooded terminals in Orlando were waiting for deliveries from other parts of the state. Fuel bottlenecks could complicate efforts to rebuild from what is likely to amount to tens of billions of dollars in damages. Across Florida’s southwest, residents were still trapped in their homes with limited electricity and mobile phone coverage.
Duke Energy Prepares for Outages in Carolinas (1:58 p.m. NY)
Duke Energy Corp. said it’s readying crews to respond to potential power outages across the Carolinas as Ian approaches the region.
“The storm is expected to bring with it strong winds and heavy rains that could lead to localized flooding,” the company said in a statement.
High water and flooding is possible on Duke Energy lakes, said the company, which is lowering levels by moving water through its river systems, creating more storage for rainfall and runoff.
Financial Watchdogs Offer Regulatory Relief (1:44 p.m. NY)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said those impacted by Ian can reach out to the agency to ask for relief from regulatory obligations with the agency. SEC staff will consider possible relief in some instances, the regulator said in a statement.
Federal and state banking regulators pledged Thursday to “provide appropriate regulatory assistance to affected institutions.” In a joint statement, watchdogs including the Federal Reserve and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, also encouraged lenders to “work constructively” with borrowers in communities impacted by the storm.
President Biden Hears of ‘Substantial’ Loss of Life (1:17 p.m. NY)
President Joe Biden said at a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing that he’s getting early indications of a significant death toll from Hurricane Ian.
“We’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” Biden said at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Since 1980, tropical cyclones have killed an average of 156 people a year in the US, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. In the time frame they were the deadliest weather events killing a total of 6,708 people.
Orange Juice Soars to 5-Year High (12:25 p.m. NY)
Orange juice surged to the highest since 2017 as a storm-ravaged Florida starts to assess citrus crop damage from Hurricane Ian.
“It will take another day or two to fully understand the damage the storm caused but damage is expected to be very big,” Jack Scoville, vice president of Chicago brokerage Price Futures Group, said in a note. Orange juice inventories in Florida are 41% below year-earlier levels, he said.
Ian is expected to be a massive blow to the citrus industry of Florida, which supplies nearly all of the orange juice to the country. The storm’s impact on domestic fertilizer output is also under scrutiny, since supply disruptions could hurt production of grains and other key crops.
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