Building Performance in SW Florida during Hurricane Ian (2022)

Hurricane Ian made landfall along the barrier island of Cayo Costa near Punta Gorda, Florida on September 28, 2022, as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane Ian was the most significant test of the modern Florida Building Code since Hurricane Charley (2004) which made landfall in nearly the exact same area. Catastrophic storm surge damage occurred across Fort Myers Beach, with a peak inundation of fifteen feet. Post-event wind field analyses from Moody’s RMS HWIND wind field model suggested areas from Sanibel Island through Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda experienced peak wind gusts between 150-160 mph, falling just below a design-level wind event per the modern Florida Building Code.