Hurricane Ian makes landfall near Cape Coral

Hurricane Ian was a large and destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane. It was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor day hurricane.  Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba and the southeast United states, especially the states of Florida and South Carolina. It was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

Ian originated from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of West Africa and then across the central tropical Atlantic towards the Windward Islands. The wave moved into the Caribbean Sea on September 21, bringing gusty winds and heavy rain to Trinidad and Tobago, The ABC islands, and to the northern coast of South America. It became organized as a tropical depression on the morning of September 23, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Ian early the next day while located southeast of Jamaica.

Lack of flood insurance?

Homeowners insurance policies typically don’t cover flood damage, and most people living in Ian’s path across Florida didn’t have a separate flood insurance policy. Inland areas that experienced historic rainfall and catastrophic floodwaters were especially unprepared, according to a CNN analysis of FEMA flood insurance data.

About a fourth of single-family homes in coastal Lee County, where Ian came onshore, are covered by federal flood insurance. The coverage rates are higher in some of the hardest-hit areas of the county, like Sanibel Island, where about half of homes are covered.

But further inland, only about 4% of single-family homes in Seminole County, 3% of homes in Orange County and 2% of homes in Polk County are covered by flood insurance. All of those counties have reported significant flooding during Ian.

While people without flood insurance will still be eligible for assistance payments from FEMA and potentially other aid approved by Congress, many homeowners will likely only receive a tiny fraction of the cost of the damage they suffered.