Lee County had a meticulous plan to help officials decide when to evacuate. We have a copy. Here is an excerpt.
If forecasts indicate a 10% chance of a 6-foot surge, the county proposes evacuations near the water (zone A). Higher surges or probabilities = more evacuations.
2/10
So what did the forecasts show?
Late on Sunday night, the National Weather Service produced a model showing some alarming numbers: A 40% chance of water 6 feet above ground level in parts of Fort Myers Beach. Many other areas also had 10%+ risk.
3/10
That forecast seemed to be enough to trigger evacuations under the county plan, but officials demurred because the center of Ian was headed more north.
Still, even without a direct hit, modeling suggested the wind and surge could be punishing.
By late Monday night, more areas faced more risk of 6-foot inundation. The weather service said there was a danger of life-threatening storm surge, “with the highest risk from Fort Myers to the Tampa Bay region.”
But Lee County still delayed evacuation.
5/10
A series of other nearby counties (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte) had issued evacuation orders on Monday. Lee County considered doing the same but decided to wait and examine the overnight forecast.
By morning, the odds of disaster had gone up.
6/10
Lee County issued its first evacuation order on Tuesday morning, but even then the county manager touted that it was “small” compared to a previous storm.
The county then expanded the evacuation as the hurricane charged toward shore and the certainty of disaster grew.
7/10
Several people we interviewed felt they had little chance to flee at that point. And the county's tone adopted sudden urgency.
On Tuesday afternoon, they sent out a message:
“Take this threat seriously. The window to act is closing.”
We are still sorting out the extent of death and destruction in the aftermath of the storm. Here are some detailed graphics of the storm surge flooding around Lee County and images of the devastation.
We have many reporters on the ground in Florida and South Carolina. Follow their dispatches here: nytimes.com/live/2022/09/3…
10/10
Here is a closer look at the devastation in Fort Myers Beach and other barrier islands, including the story of Mitch Pacyna, 74, who posted messages about the terror of being in the storm, then died while trying to flee for higher ground.
TSUNAMI ADVISORY FOR WEST COAST:
• Hawaii has already recorded waves exceeding 2 feet
• Possible impacts from California to Alaska
• Impacts may include inundation of low-lying areas and coastal flooding
• Arrival times below. Impacts may last hours
More on tsunami:
• Predictions of 1-3 foot waves along Washington and Oregon coast.
• Police in Berkley, Calif. have ordered mandatory evacuation of marina
• Weather service says people should "move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas"
We all saw the federal crackdown on Portland’s protests.
But another part of the federal response has long remained a secret: The FBI deployed surveillance teams to infiltrate the protest crowds, using tactics that raised concern within the bureau itself. nytimes.com/2021/12/22/us/…
Documents and interviews show how FBI agents donned black apparel, captured clandestine video and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Portland activists.
Here is video I took of a January demonstration. We now know there were several FBI agents on scene.
The deployment in Portland stirred consternation in the FBI that the efforts could be compared to domestic surveillance transgressions of decades past, such as COINTELPRO, according to two officials.
Election results so far in Seattle:
• Bruce Harrell, who campaigned on a more-police message, holds large lead for mayor: 65% to 35%
• Ann Davison, a Republican, is leading race for city attorney with 58%
• Sara Nelson, who ran for council on pro-business message, has 60%
There's always an important caveat with election results in Washington State: There are many more mail ballots to be counted and late ballots historically skew left, sometimes swinging races by double-digits.
But I don't believe any races have ever swung by 15+ percentage points
Kshama Sawant in the 2019 city council race was down 8 points on election night but finished up 4. So, that was a 12-point swing. Shaun Scott did the same that year.
But most other races in recent years were single-digit shifts.
i am thrilled to report that American innovation is alive and well. this airport has a new vending machine where you can buy $40 cans of Cougar Gold cheese
you might think that $40 is a lot for a can of cheese. but have you considered how hard it must be to milk a cougar?
i couldn’t resist. i will only accept ridicule from people who have actually eaten Cougar Gold cheese