As with tsunamis, the water began to recede. Tampa Bay, on the west coast of Florida, was almost empty on Wednesday morning, September 28, while offshore, Hurricane Ian, which was gaining power in the Gulf of Mexico after ravaging Cuba, drew the waters to him.
Then the cyclone, category 4, approached, with winds just below 250 km / h, a speed beyond which it would have been assigned a force 5, exceptional. It made landfall shortly after 3 p.m., with its insane winds, and it brought the sea with it, causing an inexorable rise in the waters, which could reach 3.7 meters in places.
Roads covered, cars floating in the water and houses almost submerged, it was a destructive deluge. A shark was even filmed swimming through the streets of Fort Myers.
The authorities have constantly reminded us that the rising waters represent the major danger of hurricanes, even more than the force of the wind and the precipitation, which could reach 60 centimeters in places. In the affected regions, the authorities warned the inhabitants who remained there, inviting them to take refuge in the highest floors of their homes and to stay put when the eye of the cyclone passed, offering a deceptive lull because it was temporary.
“A hurricane that will always be remembered”
More than 2.5 million residents have been placed under mandatory evacuation orders. These orders aren’t actually mandatory – everyone can stay at home – but they mean help won’t move until the storm is over. This was recalled in a message from authorities in the Fort Myers area: “Relief begins the rescues after the passage of the storm. It could last all night. »
Meteorological services have also issued warnings for tornadoes – these can indeed accompany hurricanes. One of them also destroyed passenger planes at an airport north of Miami.
“Don’t go out during this hurricane. It will be a really big one. One of the hurricanes that will be remembered forever”, warned Wednesday the Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who estimates that it will be one of the five most powerful cyclones to have hit the state. The last major hurricanes in Florida were Michael (force 5, 2018), Irma (force 4, 2017), preceded by five others in 2004-2005, one in 1995 and especially Andrew (force 5), very destructive in 1992. Mr. DeSantis said he would ask President Joe Biden for a natural disaster declaration for all of Florida, thereby unlocking federal aid.
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