Hurricane Ian's Impact on Southwest Florida: Socio-Ecological Perspectives

The 2022 hurricane season witnessed the destructive fury of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in southwest Florida on September 28 as a Category 4 Hurricane. This analysis elucidates the extensive consequences of Hurricane Ian, both in terms of socioeconomic and ecological ramifications, with a concentrated focus on regions near Fort Myers, notably Pine and Sanibel Islands.

With damage estimates surpassing $110 billion and a tragic loss of 158 lives, the physical devastation brought about by Hurricane Ian is unquestionable. One of the primary agents of this devastation was the unprecedented storm surge, which ranged between 12 to 18 feet, primarily affecting Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Pine Island, and Sanibel Island.

Utilizing Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) satellite imagery, stark contrasts are observed in areas like Lighthouse Beach Park on Sanibel Island pre and post-Hurricane Ian. This visual evidence clearly displays damaged infrastructure and severely impacted landscapes. Complementing these visuals, MERRA-2 wind data provides insight into the most severely affected regions by the hurricane's most intense winds, specifically those of the eyewall. This is juxtaposed against the SVI data from the 2020 Census, revealing that although the most impoverished portions of Sanibel Island were spared from the most catastrophic damage, major damages were still incurred in areas where nearly 60% of the residents meet the 150% poverty threshold.

The ecological aftermath of Hurricane Ian is quantified using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which paints a vivid picture of vegetation health before and after the hurricane. Data from HLS shows that regions, especially Pine and Sanibel Islands, that were previously abundant in vegetation, suffered significant losses due to the storm surge. Time-series analysis from 2019 to 2022 demonstrates that post-Ian, there was a significant dip in NDVI values, signifying a pronounced negative impact on the region's vegetation health.

In conclusion, while the material and human losses from Hurricane Ian were both tragic and profound, its ecological repercussions were equally substantial. The pronounced changes in vegetation, as captured by the NDVI values, emphasize the multifaceted influences hurricanes can have, extending beyond immediate human concerns and into broader environmental domains. It underscores the imperative of holistic evaluations when assessing the impact of such climatic events.