Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc in the US state of Florida. “The impact of this storm is historic,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday. “And the damage that has been caused is historic.” This is only based on the first estimates, the full extent will only be foreseeable in the coming days. “We’ve never seen flooding like this before,” DeSantis said. “We have never seen a storm surge of this magnitude.” There were initially no confirmed death tolls. But US President Joe Biden expressed dire fears: “This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history.”
“Ian” made landfall Wednesday as one of the strongest hurricanes in state history, causing violent winds, heavy rain, storm surges and flooding. With wind speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, the storm reached the west coast of the sunny state and was just below the threshold for the highest hurricane category, as announced by the National Hurricane Center. During the night, violent storms raged on a strip of land more than a hundred kilometers wide.
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The storm then weakened as it made its way into inland Florida. On Thursday morning (local time) “Ian” still reached wind speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour and was downgraded to a tropical storm. However, meteorologists continued to warn of catastrophic, even life-threatening floods in parts of Florida. DeSantis also warned that the situation was still very dangerous.
Mercedes and Boeing want to temporarily close their factories in the eastern United States because of the hurricane. “Due to the potential impact on the Charleston area and to ensure the safety of our employees, our Ladson, South Carolina plant will be closed on Friday,” a spokeswoman for the automaker said on Thursday.
The US aircraft manufacturer says it intends to close its factories from Thursday evening to Saturday. It is assumed that operations can be resumed from Sunday. The seaports in Charleston and Georgetown, which are important for suppliers, will also close all terminals on Friday, according to the Port Authority of South Carolina.
Flooded streets, destroyed houses, uprooted trees
On Thursday, the extent of the devastation left behind by “Ian” was only beginning to be appreciated: flooded roads, destroyed houses, uprooted trees, downed traffic lights and power poles, debris lying around.
Only gradually did emergency services move into the affected areas to rescue trapped people and get an idea of the situation. According to the US Coast Guard, helpers also swarmed out with helicopters to get people off the roofs of houses.
Florida
The hurricane left many destroyed homes in its wake.
(Photo: AP)
Biden expressed concern on Thursday in Washington during a visit to the headquarters of the US civil protection agency Fema: “The number of victims is still unclear, but we are hearing the first reports of potentially significant loss of life.”
He also warned that the situation was still dangerous. “We continue to experience deadly rains, catastrophic storm surges, flooded streets and houses,” he said. “We see millions of people without power — and thousands sheltering in schools and community centers.” These people wondered what was left of their homes, or if they would have homes at all.
Fema director Deanne Criswell said: “Hurricane Ian will be a storm that we will be talking about for decades to come.” There is still no precise assessment of the damage. “But it will be catastrophic.” Your agency is preparing for the fact that thousands of families will not be able to return to their homes and will need temporary accommodation.
“We were hit very, very hard”
Carmine Marceno, the sheriff of Lee County, one of the hardest-hit regions on Florida’s southwest coast, told CNN that thousands of emergency calls were received in the county overnight. However, some areas are not yet accessible to rescue workers. “We were hit very, very hard.”
rescuers
Many fatalities are feared.
(Photo: AP)
According to DeSantis, “Ian” is likely to make the list of the five deadliest hurricanes in Florida. Around two million households were without power on Thursday morning, the Republican said.
The two districts of Lee County and Charlotte on the southwest coast of Florida are almost completely cut off from the power grid. The infrastructure there must be rebuilt, emphasized DeSantis. It’s about much more than just reconnecting a line to a mast.
Hurricane Ian hits Florida
Tens of thousands of fitters had previously been activated to repair power lines as quickly as possible. 100 engineers are already on their way to inspect bridges that have sustained storm damage, DeSantis said. In some places, it will take years to rebuild what the storm destroyed or damaged. “This is going to be a very, very long process.”
On Tuesday, “Ian” was a category three out of five hurricane that made landfall in Cuba and also caused extensive damage there. On Thursday, the storm slowly moved northeast. The National Hurricane Center warned of strong winds and flooding in neighboring states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. DeSantis said the storm isn’t done doing damage.
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