What To Know About Traveling To Florida Following Hurricane Ian

Above, Key West and the Florida Keys are already open for business. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The devastation of Florida from Hurricane Ian is still mind-blowing (no pun intended) and it is still being totaled up. It will likely take years to get the state back to normal in many places.

In the meantime, there are those who planned to vacation in Florida. After all, tourism is one of Florida's biggest industries. What should people know about traveling to Florida following Hurricane Ian?

Travel Off Path has posted an article discussing this.

They begin with:

On September 28th, 2022, Hurricane Ian made Landfall on Florida’s Southwest coast. The devastating category 4 storm sustained winds over 115mph with gusts up to 132mph. Flooding was estimated to be up to 18 ft. on the coast and 6 ft. further inland. Buildings were flooded, property was swept away, hundreds of people died, and thousands became displaced from their homes.

After ravaging Southwest Florida, the hurricane swept through Central Florida as it was downgraded to a category 3 storm. The impact to the area was devastating despite the loss of strength. Emergency evacuations took place as many buildings in the region were flooded with thousands losing their dwellings and hundreds more losing their businesses. Violent winds up to 100 mph damaged structures and knocked down power lines. Even Florida’s delicate ecosystem was affected as hundreds of sea turtle eggs were scattered along a beach in Fort Pierce. 

As the storm moved north to South Carolina before losing further strength, Florida was left in a wake of destruction. The storm killed over 120 people and thousands of lives will forever be changed by the damage that the storm caused.

As Florida begins the process of repairing what has been broken and rebuilding what has been destroyed, many people are wondering how they can help and if it is ethical to visit Florida mere weeks after the Hurricane. Here’s what you should know. 

Despite being in the "epicenter" of Hurricane Ian, the Florida Keys, especially Key West, have bounced back and are open for business.

To read more, go here.