Historic 138-Year-Old Lighthouse Suffered the Wrath of Hurricane Ian

The 138-year-old lighthouse made it through Hurricane Ian, but not without damage.

The historic structure is still intact despite the devastation caused by the Category 4 hurricane, which destroyed hundreds of buildings throughout Sanibel Island.

Hurricane Ian vs Sanibel Island Lighthouse

The ancient Sanibel Island Lighthouse has survived several hurricanes, but Hurricane Ian tested the skeletal lighthouse's strength, according to AccuWeather.

On September 28, a powerful Category 4 storm slammed across the region, destroying innumerable structures and shutting off the island from the mainland by bringing down the causeway.

The home where the lighthouse keepers lived until 1949 at the island's easternmost tip was nowhere to be found in pictures taken after the storm.

But the 98-foot lighthouse was still standing.

Surviving Countless Disasters

The Sanibel Island Lighthouse was established on August 20, 1884, and it was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, along with its habitations.

On the Gulf Coast and north of the Florida Keys, it was one of the first iron lighthouses to keep watch.

As for hurricanes, the lighthouse has endured them all, including Donna in 1960 and Charley in 2004.

According to the city, since 1873, at least 20 hurricanes have passed within 75 miles of Sanibel Island, posing a serious threat to life and property on the island.

Ian was the most recent storm to hit the island and put the lighthouse in danger.

However, it doesn't mean the lighthouse escaped the hurricane undamaged.

Ian's fierce winds and huge storm surge tore free one of the 138-year-old building's legs.

How is the Historic Lighthouse?

On Friday, images from the Lighthouse Digest Magazine were released on Facebook, exhibiting the lighthouse before and after pictures.

Trees framed the lighthouse, and the keepers' home is on each side in the picture from before Ian.

The sand coast neatly empties into the ocean.

But without Ian, the lighthouse stands by itself. Due to erosion brought on by Ian, even the trees that formerly surrounded it were torn away, and the coastline has retreated toward the base.

The magazine said there is also some minor damage to the tower over Facebook, adding that the building may be in danger of collapsing.

"Look closely, and you will notice that the bottom of one of the support legs is gone, and erosion under the other legs puts the lighthouse in a precarious position," the magazine said.

Just How Strong was Hurricane Ian?

Hurricane Ian impacted the West Florida coast in Fort Myers, resulting in extensive damage, flooding, and power outages.

Ian was a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale when it made landfall near the outlying island of Cayo Costa, with winds reaching 150 mph.

On September 28, when a maximum of two million people were without power in the state, a storm surge in the area peaked at 12 feet.

The hurricane was still moving over the state on September 29 in the morning, although it had been reduced the night before to a category 1 storm and was now only a tropical storm as of five in the morning, September 29, local time.

Not long after, Ian dissipated.

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