U.S. Stormwatch’s Colin McCarthy posted a video of the fish thrashing the water. “The storm surge is so powerful Hurricane Ian that it brought a shark into the city streets of Fort Myers.”
The shark sighting also comes just after Florida officials warned that alligators, snakes and bears could be spotted during Hurricane Ian. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issued a statement. “You may be more likely to see alligators, snakes and bears, so remember to be alert and give them space.”
Newsweek further reports that wildlife may be disoriented during Hurricane Ian due to adverse weather conditions. This also means that animals can pose a greater threat to humans than usual.
Ocean research organization Ocearch also issued a statement on the storm’s effects on sharks. “Our team is still watching the Shark Tracker to see what their next steps are, but we were pleasantly surprised when several of our sharks rang right after the hurricane, one even during it.”
However, while sharks pose very little danger to humans during the hurricane, Ocearch says it will continue to monitor shark movements over the next few days. This is to see if any of them will be pushed out during the storm.
Fox 13 further reported that Hurricane Ian made landfall north of Fort Myers as a Category 4 storm. Fort Myers, Sanibel and Don Pedro Island are considered to be at particularly high risk for significant flooding as the storm rolls through. Meteorologist Dave Osterberg says he and his team don’t expect the storm track to change. “The storm’s biggest surge will come to the right of where it makes landfall.
