City

Hurricane Ian’s impact on Lakeland, Florida

From downed power lines to damaged trees and green spaces, here’s a brief rundown of what Lakeland, Florida looked like on the heels of Hurricane Ian.

October 6, 2022 • 
Rilee Delgado
Downed trees and a woman walking her dog

Many Lakelanders saw downed trees and storm debris following Hurricane Ian.

Photo via @emilyplank

Table of Contents
By the numbers

With last week’s hurricane behind us, here’s a brief look at Hurricane Ian’s impact on the Lakeland area.

By the numbers

  • 63,500 Lakeland Electric customers lost power for up to six days. For context, that’s nearly 50% of Lakeland Electric’s 137,000 customers.
  • 500 power lines were taken out by wind in Lakeland.
  • 349 trees needed trimming or removal by the City of Lakeland. In North Lakeland, the Parks Department cleared 68 trees.
  • 276 transformers blew in the area.
  • 78 mph — That’s how fast wind speeds were during the storm’s peak hours Wednesday night and Thursday morning on Oct. 28 and 29.
  • 40 FEMA trucks were contracted by the county to collect debris.
  • 35 Waffle House locations closed throughout the state.
  • 25 trees were cleared from Cleveland Heights Golf Course, plus acres worth of debris.
  • 18 Polk County Public Schools opened as temporary hurricane shelters.
  • 10.8 ft — That’s how high the Peace River had risen to by Sun., Oct. 2. Its record depth is 11.1 ft.