Are you having trouble contacting people in SW Florida after Ian? This could be why

Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
·1 min read

Internet connectivity drastically went down Wednesday afternoon in Southwest Florida as Hurricane Ian closed in on the area, according to an organization that tracks network disruptions across the world.

It collapsed across several cities — with some showing 0% connectivity in the evening, Isik Mater, director of research at NetBlocks said Wednesday evening.

The cities of LaBelle, Longboat Key and Saint James City had no connectivity as of 8 p.m., NetBlocks says. Other cities like Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, Northport, Englewood and Port Charlotte were at 10% or less. Lehigh Acres had 16%, Nakomis had 21% and Sarasota had 23%.

Mater told the Miami Herald this could have likely affected residents’ ability to communicate by phone or social media.

READ MORE, WATCH: SW Florida firefighters salvage life-saving tools from flooding caused by Ian

“The metric primarily represents fixed-line internet connectivity although it reflects landline phone and cellular service to some extent,” she said. “The low figures tell us many in the impacted areas will find it difficult to communicate at present. The fall in connectivity is gradual which tells us that this isn’t just a case of telecommunication companies collapsing, but of homes and communications lines being inundated and damaged or destroyed.”

This developing story will be updated.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • ‘Lost’ Klimt masterpiece sells for £26m after mysterious recovery

    Painting ‘believed lost for approximately 100 years’

  • Sadiq Khan admits mayoral elections will be judgement day on Ulez and other transport policies

    Asked at a BBC London TV hustings whether he had succeeded in bringing Londoners with him on clean air and car travel, he says: ‘We will find out on May 2’

  • Inside Rwanda's hotel looking to host UK migrants

    A hotel in one of Kigali's leafy suburbs has finally found purpose for opening its doors daily. Hope Hostel in the Rwandan capital city hopes to welcome migrants from the UK. (AP video/Allan Atulinga)

  • Ex-Post Office boss "opposed stopping prosecutions"

    The former Post Office boss was against stopping postmaster prosecutions in 2013, former top lawyer says.

  • UN report says 282 million people faced acute hunger in 2023, with the worst famine in Gaza

    Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released Wednesday. The U.N. report said 24 million more people faced an acute lack of food than in 2022, due to the sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and Sudan.

  • Mining giant BHP proposes buyout of Anglo American

    The UK-based mining giant Anglo American says it has received a takeover proposal from Australia's BHP.

  • Q1 2024 M/I Homes Inc Earnings Call

    Q1 2024 M/I Homes Inc Earnings Call

  • Deborah James’s family urge political parties to commit to long-term cancer plan

    Dame Deborah died in June 2022 at the age of 40, five years after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

  • UPDATE 1-BNP Paribas profit tops estimates on lower costs and global banking

    BNP Paribas reported a fall in first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday but beat analyst forecasts, as lower expenses and a strong performance in its corporate banking business offset flat or falling revenues elsewhere. The euro zone's biggest bank said group net income over the first three months of the year declined by 2.2% from a year earlier to 3.10 billion euros ($3.31 billion), beating the 2.4 billion-euro average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by the company.

  • 2G Energy Full Year 2023 Earnings: Revenues Beat Expectations, EPS In Line

    2G Energy ( ETR:2GB ) Full Year 2023 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: €365.3m (up 17% from FY 2022). Net income...

  • Polish foreign minister will lay out his government's vision at historic moment with war in Ukraine

    Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski is to give a speech to parliament on Thursday in which he will lay out the government's vision at a historically crucial moment with war across the border in Ukraine. Sikorski will lay out the priorities of the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk as it seeks to show leadership in Europe with growing fears that Russian aggression will not stop in Ukraine. Sikorski's speech is aimed at both the world and the domestic audience in the nation of 38 million people located along a geopolitical fault line.

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 33 points lead Thunder past Pelicans 124-92 as OKC takes a 2-0 lead

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Just a few days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like a young team struggling through their first playoff game together. On Wednesday night, they looked like grizzled playoff veterans. Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the top-seeded Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. Gilgeous-Alexander, from Hamilton, said the Thunder remained focused instead of worrying about outsi

  • Burkina Faso’s army executed 223 civilians in ‘mass killings’, says Human Rights Watch

    Military forces in Burkina Faso killed 223 civilians, including babies and many children, in attacks on two villages accused of cooperating with militants, Human Rights Watch said in a report published Thursday. The mass killings took place on Feb. 25 in the country's northern villages of Nondin and Soro, and some 56 children were among the dead, according to the report. The human rights organization called on the United Nations and the African Union to provide investigators and to support local

  • We Think Some Shareholders May Hesitate To Increase Elementis plc's (LON:ELM) CEO Compensation

    Key Insights Elementis' Annual General Meeting to take place on 30th of April CEO Paul Waterman's total compensation...

  • Islanders' priority is reliable service, DFDS told

    At a public meeting islanders tell Danish ferry firm reliability was their priority for future services.

  • Bruins beat Maple Leafs 4-2 to lead series

    TORONTO (AP) — Brad Marchand broke a tie midway through the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. After Todd Bertuzzi tied it for Toronto with 8:35 left, Marchard put the Bruins back in front 28 second later. He took a pass from Danton Heinen and ripped a shot past goalie Ilya Samsonov’s ear. Marchand capped the scoring with an empty-netter and also had an assist. Jake DeBrusk and Trent Frederi

  • Lucky Irish lotto shop celebrating second big win

    A Limerick shop lays claim to being Ireland's luckiest after selling its second life-changing ticket.

  • Meta shares sink on AI costs, wary outlook

    STORY: Shares in Facebook-parent company Meta Platforms took a tumble in after-hours trade Wednesday. They sank around 15% after a forecast of higher expenses and weaker-than-expected revenue. The rising costs largely derive from spending on AI and the infrastructure needed to power new products. Meta says total expenses could go as high as $99 billion. Boss Mark Zuckerberg said investment would have to grow “meaningfully” before the company made much revenue from the new services. It’s been building products like a chat assistant meant to drive engagement on its social media platforms. But one analyst told Reuters that investors fear it could all take years to pay off. The warning on costs drove a slide for shares in other big AI players, including Microsoft and Nvidia. Meta’s first-quarter revenue of $36.5 billion was roughly in line with predictions, but its outlook for the April-June period was marginally short of expectations. The company could also now benefit from U.S. moves against rival TikTok. Lawmakers this week passed a measure allowing for a ban on the Chinese-owned short video network. That’s over allegations it poses a threat to national security. However, Meta CFO Susan Li says it’s too early to assess the impact of any such move.

  • Commissioner must apologise over social media posts

    Conservative candidate Festus Akinbusoye says "he rejects and refutes the findings" of the panel.

  • Sports scoreboard for Wednesday, April 24, 2024

    Wednesday's Scoreboard NHL Playoffs First Round Boston 4 Toronto 2 (Boston leads best-of-seven series 2-1) Los Angeles 5 Edmonton 4 (OT) (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1) Vegas 3 Dallas 1 (Vegas leads best-of-seven series 2-0) --- PWHL Montreal 5 New York 2 Ottawa 3 Boston 2 (SO) --- AHL Playoffs First Round Calgary 2 Tucson 0 (Calgary leads best-of-three series 1-0) Belleville 3 Toronto 1 (Belleville leads best-of-three series 1-0) Abbotsford 4 Colorado 2 (Abbotsford leads best-of-three series 1-