Evacuations, flooded streets, downed power poles, fatalities, 2.6 million homes without power – Florida is experiencing one of the worst hurricanes in decades. “Ian” has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, but the threat remains if it makes landfall again in South Carolina.
A flooded street in Fort Myers after Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida on Wednesday.
On Wednesday afternoon local time is the Hurricane Ian made landfall on the west coast of Florida with wind speeds of 250 kilometers per hour. 2.5 million residents of the vulnerable region received evacuation orders, but not all complied. For example, residents of trailer parks, which are even more at risk than superstructures, refused to leave their caravans. Residents who were unable to leave the building in time were asked to go to the highest rooms or to the roofs.
Damages in the billions predicted
According to experts, “Ian” is an extremely dangerous hurricane and one of the most violent in decades. Hurricanes are relatively common in Florida, but the Southwest region, home to more than 3 million people, is being hit directly by a major hurricane for the first time since 1921. In addition, the damage to buildings is likely to be greater than in the past, because in recent decades people have built ever closer to the water.
Photos and videos showed heavy, sometimes meter-high flooding around the cities of Fort Myers Beach, Cape Coral and Naples. Damage in the billions to infrastructure and communication lines is expected. As of Thursday, 2.6 million homes and businesses were without power, according to the website power outage showed.
Carmine Marceno, the sheriff of Lee County, which was particularly hard hit, spoke of five confirmed fatalities on Thursday. However, he fears hundreds of deaths in his county alone. Thousands urgently need to be rescued. Also on Thursday, the relief measures were difficult because of the heavy rain, the flooding and the impassable roads.
High winds damaged planes at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines.
shipwrecked in the hurricane
The hurricane reached Cuba on Tuesday and caused great destruction there. According to the government, two people died when their houses collapsed in the province of Pinar del Río, which was particularly hard hit. The power went out across the country with its 11 million inhabitants.
Over the Gulf of Mexico, “Ian” then gained significant momentum on its way towards Florida and, with its immense wind speed, was just below the threshold for the highest hurricane category five when it reached the coastal city of Cape Coral.
A boat carrying migrants from Cuba sank off the coast of Florida on Tuesday evening. The coast guard was looking for 23 shipwrecked people on Wednesday, as announced on Twitter. Four of the migrants swam from the boat to American Stock Island off Key West.
People in Havana are removing trees that have fallen because of “Ian”.
Even the fire department is a victim of flooding
In western Florida, schools are cancelled, flights have been canceled and Jacksonville International Airport is closed. The Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando has also suspended operations for the time being. Some television and radio stations had to interrupt service. The fire brigade, for example in Naples, is partially unable to act because the garages were flooded with the vehicles. The hotels in the city are apparently hopelessly overcrowded. There is talk of thousands fleeing the storm for shelter and sleeping outdoors. Naples is in Collier County, which was the first to declare a state of emergency.
The speed of the storm had decreased during the night on Thursday – to around 150 kilometers per hour. Meteorologists initially downgraded the hurricane to the lowest strength of one out of five and later declared “Ian” only a tropical storm with wind speeds of around 60 kilometers per hour. Nevertheless, the authorities advised Florida residents against using the car.
On Thursday around noon, “Ian” moved out to sea again. It is expected to make landfall again in the states of Georgia and South Carolina on Friday. According to recent observations, he could again grow into a hurricane. But even with slowing speed, it will continue to cause extreme rain and flooding.
National Guard deployed
Even in the capital, Washington DC, the effects of the hurricane were felt: The public hearing of the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol, scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed because of “Ian”.
Governor DeSantis said the devastation would take years to rebuild. He has asked President Joe Biden for help. Thousands of members of the National Guard have already been deployed in Florida, according to the Department of Defense.