Hundreds of Floridians have been rescued as Hurricane Ian left catastrophic wreckage in its wake, presumably changing into the “deadliest hurricane” in state historical past whereas the storm now takes goal on the Carolinas and Georgia with life-threatening flooding and storm surge.
The extremely highly effective Category 4 hurricane that packed 150 mph winds destroyed properties, leveled buildings, and washed away bridges and roadway sections. The hardest hit space was Lee County, with Fort Myers Beach struggling the best quantity of injury and decimation.
“We have a lot of local residents who have lost their homes,” Lee County Manager Roger DesJarlais mentioned throughout a Thursday press convention, later including, “It’s just heartbreaking to see the amount of damage that’s taken place in Lee County.”
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno was up in a helicopter surveying the destruction.
“There are no words to describe what we got to see,” he mentioned, noting that it appears as if a big twister ripped by way of the realm. “Buildings are completely gone.”
Dozens of rescues have been made in waist-high water, the sheriff added.
Across Lee and Charlotte counties, greater than 500 folks have been rescued, the Florida Division of Emergency Management reported Thursday afternoon.
“This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history,” President Biden mentioned throughout a briefing from FEMA headquarters. “The numbers are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.”
Biden has made a significant catastrophe declaration to expedite federal support for restoration efforts.
Ian crossed Florida on Thursday, dumping buckets of rain throughout the central a part of the Sunshine State. Major flooding was reported in central Florida.
“The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flood event,” Gov. Ron DeSantis mentioned throughout a press convention.
“The impacts of this storm are historic, and the damage that was done has been historic,” he mentioned, including, “We’ve never seen a flood event like this. We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude.”
Nearly 3 million energy outages have been reported throughout the state.
As Ian made its manner throughout Florida, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. But then Ian strengthened to a hurricane once more, taking goal on the Carolinas and Georgia with life-threatening flooding, storm surge and powerful winds.
Ian is anticipated to strategy the South Carolina coast on Friday. Up to a 7-foot storm surge is feasible.
“It’s going to be natural for people to want to lower their guard with Ian because it’s not as powerful as it was in the Gulf of Mexico,” National Hurricane Center’s Acting Director Jamie Rhome mentioned throughout a social media briefing. “I’m really telling you, please don’t do that.”
He additionally warned, as Floridians are beginning to recuperate from Ian’s destruction, of oblique deaths in the course of the storm’s restoration part.
“We typically get a lot of fatalities unfortunately in the days after a disaster,” Rhome mentioned.
Some of these fatalities are brought on by folks overexerting themselves within the warmth and humidity as they clear up, and likewise from carbon monoxide poisoning when folks run mills in an unsafe method.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”