Hurricane Ian – live update: People trapped and 2.25 million without power as monster storm swamps Florida
Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the US, roared ashore in southwest Florida on Wednesday, turning streets into rivers as it knocked out power to 2.25 million people.
Destructive waves slammed into the southwest coast from Englewood to Bonita Beach including Charlotte Harbor, near the town of Punta Gorda, north of Fort Myers. As Ian plods across Florida in the next 24 hours, it is expected to drop 12 -18 inches of rain on top of coastal surges.
A coastal sheriff’s office reported receiving calls from people trapped in flooded homes. Several took to social media, sharing videos of debris-covered water sloshing towards their homes as they pleaded for rescue.
The storm surge flooded a lower-level emergency room in Port Charlotte, while part of the roof on a fourth-floor intensive care unit was torn down by fierce winds, according to a doctor working there.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis urged Floridians to hunker down, noting that it would be a “nasty” couple of days.
