Hurricane Ian – update: Storm may be ‘deadliest in Florida history’ as path heading to South Carolina
Dozens of rescue operations were underway across Florida after unprecedented flooding from one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the United States.
Hurricane Ian had lost strength but remained extremely dangerous on Thursday, forecasters warned, as it continued its march inland towards Florida’s east coast. A hurricane warning has also been issued for the entire coast of South Carolina.
Thousands of people are stranded across the state as coastguard helicopters were seen plucking people from roofs after several feet of water surged into neighorboods. Some 2.5million people were currently without power.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the hurricane as a “500-year flood event” and said that major infrastructure had been badly damaged including the Sanibel Causeway in southwest Florida and the bridge to Pine Island, near Fort Myers.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Florida following the catastrophic impacts. “This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” he said later during a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters.
