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Hurricanes Ian and Nicole Recovery Plan, December 9, 2022 I. Introduction Overview This Hurricanes Ian and Nicole Recovery Plan for Florida's Beach and Dune System (Recovery Plan or Plan) is considered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to be a preliminary planning document for funding needs. Estimates contained in the Plan are based on in some cases limited information provided by local governments, their coastal engineering consultants, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and DEP staff. As surveys or new information is obtained, this Plan may be updated to include such information. Additionally, it is important that this Plan be flexible to allow project funding to be adjusted based on new information and conditions that exist at the time the work will be contracted. Detailed planning and engineering tasks will be conducted for each project to formulate the most cost- effective design. During the 2022 hurricane season, the State of Florida was impacted by two hurricanes: major Hurricane Ian, and Hurricane Nicole. Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28, 2022, at approximately 3:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time, at Cayo Costa, Lee County, in southwest Florida as a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale. Ian came ashore with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, which was the fifth -strongest measured hurricane to strike the United States. Ian had a storm surge on Estero Island and southern Sanibel Island in excess of +13 feet NAVD, which approximated a 100 -year return interval storm event. High water marks were measured between +12 to +18 feet in southern Lee County revealing the devastating effects of the storm waves above the storm surge. Hurricane Ian made landfall very near the same location as Category 4 Hurricane Charley in 2004. Following landfall, Ian crossed Florida on a northeasterly tract with hurricane force winds and extreme rainfall, which exceeded 21 inches near Orlando in Orange County. After reaching the Atlantic coast as a tropical storm and exiting Florida at Cape Canaveral, Ian strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane on September 30 and battered the northeast coast of Florida before turning northwestward and making landfall in South Carolina. Hurricane Nicole formed as a subtropical cyclone on November 7, from a non -tropical area of low pressure near the Greater Antilles and transitioned into a tropical cyclone the next day. Nicole made landfall on November 9, on Great Abaco and on Grand Bahama in the Bahamas, where it strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. On November 10, it made landfall in Florida, south of Vero Beach. Nicole then traversed the peninsula of Florida before emerging in the Gulf of Mexico and making landfall in Cedar Key as a low-end tropical storm. Nicole became only the third November hurricane on record to make landfall in Florida, along with the 1935 Yankee hurricane and Hurricane Kate in 1985. Nicole crossed the same region in Florida devastated six weeks earlier by Hurricane Ian and was the first hurricane to make landfall on Florida's east coast since Katrina in 2005. Despite being relatively weak, Nicole's large size produced widespread heavy rainfall and strong winds across Florida, knocking out power and inflicting damage in many areas. Additionally, days of strong onshore wind flow onto the east coast of Florida produced severe beach erosion, especially in St. Johns, Volusia, Flagler, and Brevard counties. Page 3 of 21 333