Eyewall replacement cycle and shallow water and maybe magic, busted up the right side eyewall well before Charlotte Bay landfall.
That gap is the biggest part of what passed over Sanibel.
Dot.gov is spoon feeding us, so far. Sad music sheriff aerials, with zero location data... and scary words. Biblical, catastrophic, etc. Selling soap flakes, reaching for Fed $$, no solid info yet.
A few anecdotal snippets. Causeway island breach..SE to NW flow regime. Steel Lighthouse intact, on decimated SE point, two woodframe structures gone, one foundation remains, one MIA.
I have family about to commit Hari-Kari, radar data showing greens and light yellows at worst eyewall passage, the main (protective?) axis of the island in line with the causeway breach and sand spills, and a coupla pix with 99.9 percent of wood frames on Sanibel.. missing shingles.
Outside the lighthouse base...maybe 0.1%... “biblical.”
Typically dot-gov shoots gridded aerials, but I have gigs this weekend. Starting like 30 minutes ago, thru Colts kickoff Sunday.
Any links to those aerials, or any other comprehensive data on greater Sanibel... will ease a fair bit of friction on my end.
TIA.
FWIW, here is a report from a friend with a place on the by in Sanibel. They evacuated.
“At this point, I have NO good news other than our friends and us are alive. What we know:
1) The only means to reach the Island (other than via boat) has been destroyed. Initially, we thought just a section of the causeway was down. However, video shows MANY sections have been destroyed leaving access back to the Island a huge unknown. Spans of the bridge dump onto islands called Island A and Island B and there is just road and beach then it connects back to the main bridge. Best we can see, there is no more of the Island A. This likely means an entire NEW structure will have to be built! Never mind the remaining structure of the bridge. I’m not an engineer, so I do not have a clue as to how or when this can be done. I suppose it may come back to the way they used to do it - by ferry.
2) We don’t know what the actual total surge was on the Island. Our last video we saw was around noon yesterday from the city cams. The gulf side of the Island was under water to just under a Stop sign (4’?). On our side, the Bay side, we saw it 2-3’ and then cameras went down. We don’t know what surge we had at the house but suspect it likely filled our lower level and drown our car. Of course, we are only speculating. We have a concrete-tile roof and hurricane shields and windows so our hope is that they all held and we have not had any penetration from leaks or break-in windows. We won’t know anything until somebody gets to our home. If the structure survived, then our likely damage is then MOLD. No a/c and no air circulation inside the house leads to mold. It seems that we will have to rebuild the house. I don’t believe that I am exaggerating but I would be thrilled if I am.
3) Some have asked what our plan is. Great question for which we really don’t have an answer due to all of the variables. No access until when? No reason to return unless there is power. Whenever that happens, and if our house is damaged and uninhabitable, where do we stay? Everyone is in the same status so where will we find housing? So many variables and certainly nothing we have ever encountered.
4) The Governor has stated that Lee County (that’s us) will have to rebuild the electrical grid. It’s not merely rehanging downed electrical lines, the power stations and transformers, metal have been destroyed. So who knows how long that will take? The water systems have also been compromised and will need major repairs. I’m sure the roadways on Island will also be severely damaged. Bottom-line - this will be be months and years before any normal lifestyle will return to us. Very sad. Also, our golf course was totally under water so I’m pretty sure that will kill the grass and the cart-barn was under water. Guess I’ll have to find a new game to play for awhile.”