I Survived Hurricane Ian

On September 28, 2022 Hurricane Ian impacted Venice, Florida with winds of 105 mph or more and 18-24 inches of rain. Hurricane force winds hit Venice... more

by Liesl Walsh

Title

I Survived Hurricane Ian

Artist

Liesl Walsh

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

On September 28, 2022 Hurricane Ian impacted Venice, Florida with winds of 105 mph or more and 18-24 inches of rain. Hurricane force winds hit Venice for 9 hours, but the hurricane lasted in the area for 19 hours. Thousands of trees came down, the theater downtown was destroyed, street signs snapped in half, street lights bent, fences collapsed, and many homes were damaged. Some people lost everything, especially in areas south of Venice from Englewood all the way down to Fort Myers and Naples.

In my area of Venice the roads flooded and hundreds of trees came down. Trees fell like dominoes one after the other all down the street. A huge oak tree fell down next door landing right next to their house. The main road outside my neighborhood was blocked both ways for 2 days, so we couldn’t get out. The morning after the storm we woke up to the stone age.

We lost power for 5 days and lost internet for 7 days. It was a very challenging time. Thankfully our house held up to the storm, the windows were air tight. But we lost a lot of trees, the roof leaked, and we lost some screens. We were at the north edge of the eye of the storm for hours.

But I feel lucky because I still have a home. So many are homeless now. It is now 2 weeks since the storm, and people are tired. Cleanup will take a very long time. There are mountains of debris lining the streets.

I was very worried about downtown Venice and the historic homes, how did they survive? I was expecting it to be much worse. Thankfully they survived! There was some damage to structures, but they were not completely destroyed. Most of the small trees in downtown fell down, so they were quickly chopped down leaving short trunks jutting out on an angle all down the street. The many tall palm trees lining West Venice Avenue mostly remained intact. And the historic homes from the 1920’s remained.

After seeing the complete destruction of the pier in Fort Myers from the hurricane, I was relieved to find the Venice Fishing Pier intact after the storm. In fact the only thing different I noticed was a lot of sand on top of it. The bait shop shack on top of the pier was still there. Even Sharky’s and Fins, the restaurants at the pier, remained except for a loss of many trees in the parking lot.

Years ago the Venice Fishing Pier had been damaged by a previous hurricane, so it was rebuilt higher and stronger. It stands 700 feet into the Gulf of Mexico. After Hurricane Ian the pier came back like a champ. It was strong and survived!

Many locals are encouraged by the pier’s success and strength. It is the most popular tourist attraction in the area. Losing this landmark would have been devastating.

I took this photo of the Venice Fishing Pier with 13 seconds exposure to soften the water. The sky colors were so incredible, it was a sunset to remember.

I made copies of this image with text that can be printed on t-shirts, cards, mugs, and other gifts. The messages are about this area of Florida staying strong:

“Venice Strong”
“Sarasota Strong”
“Englewood Strong”
“North Port Strong”
“Manasota Strong”
“Nokomis Strong”
“Port Charlotte Strong”
"Cape Coral Strong"
"Fort Myers Strong"
"Naples Strong"
“Florida Strong”
“I Survived Hurricane Ian”

As a photographer I feel its my duty to document the damage with photos, but also provide hope with my serene images to encourage people to keep going.

SOLD:
2 Large Coffee Mugs to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Navy Men's T-Shirt to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Oval Ornament to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Medium Carry-All Pouch to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Royal Blue T-Shirt to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Kelly Green Women's T-Shirt to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Oval Ornament to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Royal T-Shirt to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Hot Pink Men's T-Shirt to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Navy Women's T-Shirt to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-15-2022. Thank you!
Small Jigsaw Puzzle to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-16-2022. Thank you!
Heart Ornament to buyer in Venice, FL on 10-16-2022. Thank you!
Large Coffee Mug to buyer in Nokomis, FL on 10-24-2022. Thank you!
500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle to buyer in Scottsdale, AZ on 11-21-2022. Thank you!
Small 11 oz. Coffee Mug to buyer in Scottsdale, AZ on 11-21-2022. Thank you!
Large Coffee Mug to buyer in Jacksonville, FL on 12-6-2022. Thank you!
2 Large Coffee Mugs to buyer in Old Town, FL on 12-7-2022. Thank you!
Royal Woman's T-shirt to buyer in Rotonda West, FL on 2-15-2023. Thank you!
500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle to buyer in Apple Valley, MN on 4-22-2023. Thank you!

Uploaded

October 13th, 2022