The United States discovered on Thursday the widespread damage wrought by a powerful hurricane that devastated cities in Florida after ripping into nearby Caribbean islands earlier in the week.
Hurricane Ian battered parts of Puerto Rico, Cuba and other islands before making landfall in Florida on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane (on a scale of 5), then continued its passage through the southeastern state, carrying strong winds and torrential rains.
It was later downgraded to a tropical storm, but by Thursday evening it had regained hurricane force, with winds of up to 120 km/hour as it headed for the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
This could be the "deadliest hurricane in Florida's history," US President Joe Biden said on Thursday morning during a visit to the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “The numbers are still unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.”
President Biden promised to deploy all the federal resources Florida needed, pledging that the federal government would rebuild the devastated areas together with state and local authorities. "We will stay as long as it takes," he said.
The hurricane slammed into coastal cities, reducing homes to rubble, tearing roofs off buildings, downing trees and power lines. TV footage showed an entire 50-foot section of a major causeway linking the coastal island of Sanibel to mainland Florida destroyed by the elements, effectively isolating the island.
Much of the damage in Florida's coastal areas was caused by flooding, as and heavy winds sent river and sea water crashing into the land, compounding the effect of torrential rains.
“We have never seen floods like this,” Florida Governor Ron De Santis said at a press conference, noting that some areas such as Cape Coral and the city of Fort Myers, the main city in Lee County, experienced extensive flooding and devastation.
On Thursday morning, more than 2.6 million homes and businesses remained without electricity, out of a total of 11 million, according to the specialised site PowerOutage.
Cable News Network (CNN) reported five deaths in Lee County, based on information from County Commissioner Chris Constance. Five deaths were reported in neighbouring Charlotte County.
As the storm moved through Central Florida, a 72-year-old man died in the town of Deltona, Volusia County after slipping into a canal into which he was trying to drain his pool using a hose, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
The death toll is expected to climb as rescue and emergency services continued to seek and rescue people trapped by flood waters.
Moreover, the NHC warned that conditions in the new areas threatened by Hurricane Ian as it moved inland once again would be "life threatening" with more floods, storm surges and strong winds.
