Hurricane Ian heads for the Carolinas
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A revived Hurricane Ian threatened coastal South Carolina and the historic city of Charleston with severe flooding Friday after the deadly storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida and trapped thousands in their homes.
Sheets of rain whipped trees and power lines, and many areas on Charleston’s downtown peninsula were already under water by midday. Streets in the 350-year-old city were largely empty. Ian’s anticipated landfall just up the South Carolina coast was expected to coincide with high tide, which would make flooding worse.
Ian left a broad swath of destruction after it came ashore on Florida’s Gulf Coast as one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S. The storm flooded areas on both of Florida’s coasts, tore homes from their slabs, demolished beachfront businesses and left more than 2 million people without power. At least seven people were confirmed dead in the U.S. – a number that was almost certain to increase as officials confirm more deaths and search for people.
With winds holding at 140 km/h, the National Hurricane Center’s update at 11 a.m. Friday placed Ian about 95 kilometres southeast of Charleston.
The centre’s hurricane warning stretched from the Savannah River to Cape Fear. The forecast predicted a storm surge of up to 7 feet into some Carolina coastal areas, and rainfall of up to 8 inches.
In Florida, rescue crews piloted boats and waded through riverine streets Thursday to save thousands of people trapped amid flooded homes and buildings shattered by Hurricane Ian.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that rescue crews had gone door-to-door to over 3,000 homes in the hardest-hit areas.
“There’s really been a Herculean effort,” he said during a news conference in Tallahassee.
Climate change added at least 10% more rain to Hurricane Ian, according to a study prepared immediately after the storm, said its co-author, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab climate scientist Michael Wehner.
Those killed in Florida included a 67-yearold man who was waiting to be rescued and fell into rising water inside his New Smyrna Beach home late Thursday, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said. Patrol vehicles had been unable to reach him because roads were flooded.
At least three people were reported killed in Cuba after the hurricane struck there on Tuesday.
In the Fort Myers area, businesses near the beach were completely razed, leaving twisted debris. Broken docks floated at odd angles beside damaged boats. Fires smoldered on lots where houses once stood.
“I don’t know how anyone could have survived in there,” William Goodison said amid the wreckage of a mobile home park in Fort Myers Beach where he’d lived for 11 years. Goodison said he was alive only because he rode out the storm at his son’s house inland.
The hurricane tore through the park of about 60 homes, leaving many destroyed or mangled beyond repair, including Goodison’s single-wide home. Wading through waist-deep water, Goodison and his son wheeled two trash cans containing what little he could salvage – a portable air conditioner, some tools and a baseball bat.
The road into Fort Myers was littered with broken trees, boat trailers and other debris. Cars were abandoned in the road, having stalled when the storm surge flooded their engines.