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The dying toll was rising and residents desperately sought rescue Thursday as traditionally highly effective Hurricane Ian, now a tropical storm, hammered Florida with heavy rain and powerful winds, one of many strongest programs in U.S. historical past.
Gov. Ron DeSantis described the storm as “500-year flooding occasion” and stated communities throughout the state had been or can be swamped by the overwhelming waters.
“The impacts of this storm are historic and the harm that has been accomplished is historic,” DeSantis stated. “We have by no means seen a flood occasion like this, we have by no means seen a storm surge of this magnitude.”
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno stated on CNN that not less than 5 deaths have been confirmed in his county. And a 72-year-old man in Deltona died after fallinnto a canal whereas utilizing a hose to empty his pool within the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Workplace stated.
Greater than 2.6 million Florida houses and enterprise had been with out energy early Thursday.
Ian had weakened to a tropical storm however was forecast to proceed roaring throughout the state many of the day earlier than heading out into the Atlantic. The storm flooded total communities, leaving residents stranded of their houses with battering 150-mph most sustained winds – simply 7 mph shy of a Class 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale.
The storm beforehand tore into Cuba, killing two individuals and bringing down the nation’s electrical grid. No accidents or deaths have been reported in Florida.
Newest developments:
►The U.S. Coast Guard was nonetheless trying to find greater than 20 Cuban migrants after their boat sank in stormy climate close to the Florida Keys.
► Ian’s energy at landfall tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane when measured by wind velocity to strike the U.S. It is tied with 5 different hurricanes that reached 150 mph — two in Florida, two in Louisiana and one in Texas.
► Residents described the terror after a twister tore by a condominium advanced close to Delray Seashore, ripping off roofs and turning over automobiles. “I felt issues blow previous my head and face,” resident Jim Travis stated. “After I opened the door, my condo was destroyed.” Learn extra.
Fast hyperlinks:
GET TEXT UPDATES: Join right here for textual content updates on Hurricane Ian.
HURRICANE IAN TRACKER: The place is Ian headed? See the map.
IAN FORECAST: Ian prone to spend days dumping rain on Florida. This is the outlook.
Hurricane Ian tracker
As now Tropical Storm Ian continues to maneuver throughout Florida on Thursday, USA TODAY’s Hurricane Ian tracker will stay up to date and provide the newest take a look at the place the storm is headed.
Lee County sheriff fears ‘tons of’ may very well be useless
The hurricane’s heart made landfall as a Class 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon close to Cayo Costa, a barrier island simply west of closely populated Fort Myers in Lee County.
“Whereas I haven’t got confirmed numbers, I undoubtedly know the fatalities are within the tons of,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno stated on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America.” “There are literally thousands of individuals which can be ready to be rescued.”
Pressed on the numbers, Marceno stated “up to now confirmed within the tons of. Which means that we’re responding to occasions, drownings. Once more, uncertain of the precise particulars as a result of we’re simply beginning to scratch the floor on this evaluation.”
Emergency crews sawed by toppled bushes to succeed in individuals in flooded houses. “If the road is busy, hold attempting,” Marceno stated in a Fb submit early Thursday.
Greater than 2.6 million Floridians with out energy
Greater than 2.5 million houses and companies throughout Florida had been with out energy early Thursday, in keeping with PowerOutage.us. Many of the houses and companies in 12 counties had been with out energy, though authorities stated they had been making progress, that energy had been restored to 500,000.
Sheriff Bull Prummell of Charlotte County, simply north of Fort Myers, introduced a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. “for life-saving functions,” saying violators might face second-degree misdemeanor expenses.
“I’m enacting this curfew as a way of defending the individuals and property of Charlotte County,” Prummell stated.
Southeast braces as Ian advances
Meteorologists with the Nationwide Hurricane Heart stated Ian will roll off of Florida’s east coast, flip northwest and would possibly strengthen to hurricane standing once more earlier than making landfall once more in South Carolina. The governors of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia all preemptively declared states of emergency.
“State companies are working collectively and getting ready for Hurricane Ian’s potential impression,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMasters stated on Twitter. “Every South Carolinian ought to do the identical – take the time now to make a plan for each contingency.”
Hospital roof partially torn off, hearth station flooded: Harm in Florida
Components of Florida’s Gulf Coast noticed main harm as Hurricane Ian swept by the state, damaging buildings and houses and flooding communities.
Water coursed by the streets of Naples, creating big waves that made roads impassable and flooded the town’s hearth division. A video posted by Naples Fireplace-Rescue confirmed crews working to salvage gear and firetrucks in additional than 3 toes of water. In Cape Coral, about 30 miles up the coast, pictures confirmed a sailboat washed up in the course of a street close to houses.
Close by Fort Myers noticed intense storm surge flooding coastal communities and the realm round WINK Information, an area CBS affiliate. Movies confirmed water reaching automobile windshields within the studio’s car parking zone and a number of the storm surge leaking into the constructing.
Farther north alongside the coast, intense storm surge flooded a hospital’s decrease stage emergency room in Port Charlotte, whereas fierce winds ripped away a part of the roof from its intensive care unit, in keeping with a physician who works there.
WHAT IS STORM SURGE?Explaining a hurricane’s deadliest and most harmful risk
Water gushed down from above onto the ICU, forcing workers to evacuate the hospital’s sickest sufferers – a few of whom had been on ventilators – to different flooring, stated Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital. Employees members used towels and plastic bins to attempt to mop up the sodden mess.
Officers warned flash floods had been doable throughout the state, which may result in air pollution and radioactive waste overflow.
SAFFIR-SIMPSON WIND SPEED SCALE:Breaking down wind velocity scale for hurricanes.
HOW DOES HURRICANE IAN COMPARE:Class 5 hurricanes are uncommon. Is Ian’s punch the worst U.S. has seen?
Contributing: Kate Cimini, USA In the present day Community-Florida; Related Press
