Terry Prone: Paradise lost in the eye of the storm

An airplane overturned by a likely tornado produced by the outer bands of Hurricane Ian at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Insurance assessors will be moving in to assess what they’re going to pay for the damage, and by how much they will raise premiums for people who make the choice to continue to live in the path of tropical storms. Photo: AP/Wilfredo Lee

Early footage of Hurricane Ian was exactly the same as early footage of any hurricane hitting Florida. Grey sleet. Palm trees bent double. Rubbish bowling along. Puddles becoming a flood. 

One time-lapse sequence from traffic cameras on one of the islands showed all of these images and gave no idea of the actual impact. Because, no matter how good Florida is at managing the consequences of tropical storms, the consequences for Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island will be dire.