Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to strike the US mainland, battered southwest Florida with high winds, rain, and storm surges as it weakened and moved inland.
Nearly 2m homes and businesses were left without power as the storm swept ashore in southwest Florida on Wednesday afternoon, bringing “catastrophic” 150mph winds and a deadly storm surge of up to 18ft. Hours later, the storm – estimated to be about 140 miles wide – was downgraded from a category 4 to a category 1 storm as it moved slowly northeast, causing major flooding.
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The true scale of the damage remained unclear as darkness fell, with power and communications networks down, and emergency services workers forced to take shelter from the worst of the storm.
Residential areas in Fort Myers Beach and several other coastal cities were almost completely submerged, buildings were damaged, and trees and power lines were brought down. The utility company Florida Power and Light warned those in Ian’s path to brace for days without power.
In coastal Florida, desperate people posted to Facebook and other social sites, pleading for rescue for themselves or loved ones. A local sheriff’s office reported that it was getting many calls from people trapped in flooded homes.
I’ve been capturing video from this webcam in Fort Myers all day and I’ve put it into a Timelapse. Check out the storm surge rushing in! Crazy. #Ian #flwx pic.twitter.com/lj7a1wThga
— Brennan Prill (@WxBrenn) September 28, 2022
@Gutfeldfox somehow a shark ended up in a Fort Myers neighborhood during Hurricane Ian.. 😬 pic.twitter.com/l3WbzgNQHj
— Brad Habuda (@BradHabuda) September 28, 2022
*RARE* first person view of storm surge. This camera is 6 feet off the ground on Estero Blvd in Fort Myers Beach, FL. Not sure how much longer it keeps working. You’ll see it live only on @weatherchannel #Ian pic.twitter.com/WwHtvgVxjY
— Mike Bettes (@mikebettes) September 28, 2022
TO THE RESCUE: A group of Good Samaritans saved a man stuck in surging waters in Bonita Springs, Florida, as Hurricane Ian hit the state. https://t.co/PRJhSFIVFW pic.twitter.com/Fc4fB7NFbd
— ABC News (@ABC) September 29, 2022
We were in the eye wall of Cat. 4 #Hurricane #Ian for over 5 hours and the back side was the worst.
I haven’t experienced anything close to this in over 30 years @weatherchannel pic.twitter.com/wfEqcuEBAm— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) September 29, 2022
more at theguardian.com
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