Graph Massara And Ali Swenson, The Associated Press
Published Thursday, September 29, 2022
Photos and videos of sharks and other marine life swimming in suburban floodwaters make for popular hoaxes during massive storms. But a cellphone video filmed during Hurricane Ian's assault on southwest Florida isn't just another fish story.
The eye-popping video, which showed a large, dark fish with sharp dorsal fins thrashing around an inundated Fort Myers backyard, racked up more than 12 million views on Twitter within a day, as users responded with disbelief and comparisons to the “Sharknado” film series.
Dominic Cameratta, a local real estate developer, confirmed he filmed the clip from his back patio Wednesday morning when he saw something “flopping around” in his neighbor's flooded yard
“I didn't know what it was - it just looked like a fish or something,” he told The Associated Press. “I zoomed in, and all my friends are like, `It's like a shark, man!' ”
He guessed the fish was about 4 feet in length.
Experts were of mixed opinion on whether the clip showed a shark or another large fish. George Burgess, former director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's shark program, said in an email that it “appears to be a juvenile shark,” while Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, director of the University of Miami's shark conservation program, wrote that “it's pretty hard to tell.”
Nevertheless, some Twitter users dubbed the hapless fish the “street shark.”
The surge worsened in Fort Myers as the day went on. Cameratta said the flooding had only just begun when the clip was taken, but that the waters were “all the way up to our house” by the time the AP reached him by phone Wednesday evening.
He said the fish may have made its way up from nearby Hendry Creek into a retention pond, which then overflowed, spilling the creature into his neighbor's backyard. A visual analysis of nearby property confirmed it matches the physical landmarks in the video.
Leslie Guelcher, a professor of intelligence studies at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, was among the online sleuths who initially thought the video was fake.
“Don't think this is real. According to the index on the video it was created in June 2010. Someone else posted it at 10 AM as in Fort Myers, but the storm surge wasn't like that at 10 AM,” she tweeted Wednesday.
Guelcher acknowledged later, though, that online tools she and others were using to establish the video's origins didn't actually show when the video itself was created, merely when the social media profile of the user was created.
The AP confirmed through the original clip's metadata that it was captured Wednesday morning.
“It makes a bit more sense from a flooding standpoint,” she said by email, when informed the fish was spotted near an overflowing pond. “But how on earth would a shark go from the Gulf of Mexico to a retention pond?”
Yannis Papastamatiou, a marine biologist who studies shark behavior at Florida International University, said that most sharks flee shallow bays ahead of hurricanes, possibly tipped off to their arrival by a change in barometric pressure. A shark could have accidentally swum up into the creek, he said, or been washed into it.
“Young bull sharks are common inhabitants of low salinity waters - rivers, estuaries, subtropical embayments - and often appear in similar videos in FL water bodies connected to the sea such as coastal canals and ponds,” Burgess said. “Assuming the location and date attributes are correct, it is likely this shark was swept shoreward with the rising seas.”
Cameratta sent the video to a group chat on WhatsApp on Wednesday morning, according to his friend John Paul Murray, who sent the AP a timestamped screenshot.
“Amazing content,” Murray wrote in reply.
Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo and Arijeta Lajka in New York contributed to this report.
Man Who Tried to Drain Pool During Hurricane Ian Is Among Deaths Confirmed as Toll Continues to Rise
Charmaine Patterson
Thu, September 29, 2022
In this aerial view, vehicles make their way through a flooded area after Hurricane Ian passed through on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain to the area causing severe damage.
Joe Raedle/Getty
The death toll continues to rise since Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
A 72-year-old man from Deltona died after going outside to drain his pool, the Volusia County Sheriff's Department said in a release Thursday morning.
Authorities believe he put a hose down a canal that was 30 feet wide in an attempt to drain the pool. The canal had "a steep decline into the water [that] was extremely soft and slippery due to the heavy rain," VCSD said.
His wife told police he "disappeared" after he went outside.
RELATED: See Photos of Hurricane Ian's Path as Historic Storm Hits Florida
A collapsed building near flooded river aftermath of hurricane in Punta Gorda district of Florida, United States on September 29, 2022. Hurricane Ian is packing maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph), down slightly from 155 mph (249 kph) winds recorded just hours earlier. US authorities warned earlier on Wednesday that Ian is slated to bring mass devastation to parts of Florida as it barreled toward the southeastern state. At least 2.5 million Floridians are currently under some type of evacuation order as Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified into a major hurricane. Hurricane Ian is slated to bring mass devastation to parts of Florida as it barrels toward the southeastern state with winds nearing Category 5 status.More
Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency via Getty
"While searching for him, deputies found his flashlight, then spotted the victim unresponsive in a canal behind the home," VCSD said. "Several deputies pulled the victim from the water and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but the victim could not be revived. He was later pronounced deceased at the hospital."
A Lake County man also died when his car hydroplaned during the Category 4 storm, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said, per The Tampa Bay Times.
The FDLE did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
RELATED: Hurricane Ian Makes Landfall in Florida as 'Extremely Dangerous' Category 4 Storm
A man walks through debris on a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida on September 29, 2022. - Hurricane Ian left much of coastal southwest Florida in darkness early on Thursday, bringing "catastrophic" flooding that left officials readying a huge emergency response to a storm of rare intensity. The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the "extremely dangerous" hurricane made landfall just after 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) on the barrier island of Cayo Costa, west of the city of Fort Myers.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty
While six deaths were reported in Charlotte County, officials there said, per the publication, that they could not confirm an exact number.
"I can confirm that there have been deaths," said spokesman Christopher Hall, "but I cannot confirm how many or even what were the causes of those deaths."
Lee County officials have confirmed five other deaths, according to The Times.
Two deaths are also reportedly being investigated in Sarasota County but have not been confirmed. County spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez told The Times that details are in the early stages.
CNN reports that 15 people have died, though the death toll remains uncertain.
Sharing an update during a press briefing Thursday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis said, "The impacts of this storm are historic, and the damage that was done has been historic."
He did not state a death toll, but addressed the Lee County Sheriff's previous comments that it was in the hundreds.
"None of that is confirmed. I think what that is, is there were 911 calls for people saying, 'Hey, the water is rising in my home, I'm going to go up in the attic but I'm really worried," DeSantis said in the update captured by Fox Business. "Of course, those folks are now going to be checked on, and I think you'll have more clarity about that in the next day or so as they're able to go to those locations to determine whether people need services or are able to be rescued."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
He added that the FDLE will investigate two "unconfirmed" deaths to determine if they're connected to Hurricane Ian.
The storm came ashore as an "extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane" with sustained winds of 150 mph shortly after 3 p.m. local time near Cayo Costa on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
More than 2.5 million Floridians lost power.
Charmaine Patterson
Thu, September 29, 2022
In this aerial view, vehicles make their way through a flooded area after Hurricane Ian passed through on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain to the area causing severe damage.
Joe Raedle/Getty
The death toll continues to rise since Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
A 72-year-old man from Deltona died after going outside to drain his pool, the Volusia County Sheriff's Department said in a release Thursday morning.
Authorities believe he put a hose down a canal that was 30 feet wide in an attempt to drain the pool. The canal had "a steep decline into the water [that] was extremely soft and slippery due to the heavy rain," VCSD said.
His wife told police he "disappeared" after he went outside.
RELATED: See Photos of Hurricane Ian's Path as Historic Storm Hits Florida
A collapsed building near flooded river aftermath of hurricane in Punta Gorda district of Florida, United States on September 29, 2022. Hurricane Ian is packing maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph), down slightly from 155 mph (249 kph) winds recorded just hours earlier. US authorities warned earlier on Wednesday that Ian is slated to bring mass devastation to parts of Florida as it barreled toward the southeastern state. At least 2.5 million Floridians are currently under some type of evacuation order as Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified into a major hurricane. Hurricane Ian is slated to bring mass devastation to parts of Florida as it barrels toward the southeastern state with winds nearing Category 5 status.More
Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency via Getty
"While searching for him, deputies found his flashlight, then spotted the victim unresponsive in a canal behind the home," VCSD said. "Several deputies pulled the victim from the water and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but the victim could not be revived. He was later pronounced deceased at the hospital."
A Lake County man also died when his car hydroplaned during the Category 4 storm, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said, per The Tampa Bay Times.
The FDLE did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
RELATED: Hurricane Ian Makes Landfall in Florida as 'Extremely Dangerous' Category 4 Storm
A man walks through debris on a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida on September 29, 2022. - Hurricane Ian left much of coastal southwest Florida in darkness early on Thursday, bringing "catastrophic" flooding that left officials readying a huge emergency response to a storm of rare intensity. The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the "extremely dangerous" hurricane made landfall just after 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) on the barrier island of Cayo Costa, west of the city of Fort Myers.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty
While six deaths were reported in Charlotte County, officials there said, per the publication, that they could not confirm an exact number.
"I can confirm that there have been deaths," said spokesman Christopher Hall, "but I cannot confirm how many or even what were the causes of those deaths."
Lee County officials have confirmed five other deaths, according to The Times.
Two deaths are also reportedly being investigated in Sarasota County but have not been confirmed. County spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez told The Times that details are in the early stages.
CNN reports that 15 people have died, though the death toll remains uncertain.
Sharing an update during a press briefing Thursday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis said, "The impacts of this storm are historic, and the damage that was done has been historic."
He did not state a death toll, but addressed the Lee County Sheriff's previous comments that it was in the hundreds.
"None of that is confirmed. I think what that is, is there were 911 calls for people saying, 'Hey, the water is rising in my home, I'm going to go up in the attic but I'm really worried," DeSantis said in the update captured by Fox Business. "Of course, those folks are now going to be checked on, and I think you'll have more clarity about that in the next day or so as they're able to go to those locations to determine whether people need services or are able to be rescued."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
He added that the FDLE will investigate two "unconfirmed" deaths to determine if they're connected to Hurricane Ian.
The storm came ashore as an "extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane" with sustained winds of 150 mph shortly after 3 p.m. local time near Cayo Costa on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
More than 2.5 million Floridians lost power.
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