Fort Myers, Florida

Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and ...

But the storm made landfall well to the south, near Cayo Costa, a barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers. "The way that the storm ended up moving through … Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 665 km from the centre, and nearly the entire state was getting drenched, with up to 30 centimetres of rain forecast for parts of northeast Florida, coastal Georgia and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Forecasters predicted Ian will turn toward those states as a tropical storm, likely dumping more flooding rains into the weekend. Staff members used towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess. "We don't know when the water's going to go down. Four other Cubans swam to Stock Island, just east of Key West, the U.S. The hurricane is also causing significant disruptions to U.S. Flooding rains continued across the state, and a stretch of the Gulf Coast remained inundated by ocean water pushed ashore by the massive storm. ET Thursday, the storm was about 70 kilometres southeast of Orlando and 55 kilometres southwest of Cape Canaveral, where NASA earlier this week rolled back its moon rocket ahead of the storm. air travel, especially in the southeast United States. Social media posts from reporters showed significant flooding on the streets of Kissimmee, a popular tourist stop for taking day trips to the Orlando-area theme parks.

Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, leaving behind a partially collapsed Sanibel Causeway. The Lee County sheriff said while he ...

We WILL rebuild back to the community we know and love." Brennan said the boat floated in around 7pm. FORT MYERS FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 29: Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that pushed against her apartment when Hurricane Ian passed through the area on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. It was built in 1884 and given to the City of Sanibel in 2004 for restoration purposes. "We don’t know when the water’s going to go down. "This was, without a doubt, the strongest hurricane in Southwest Florida history," he wrote on Facebook. For WINK-TV, the wall of storm surge that Ian brought entered the newsroom set in Fort Myers. We don’t know how they’re going to leave, their cars are totaled," Hailer said. Wednesday, he said the worst surge was behind them and water levels were slowly lowering. Staff members used towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain t Desperate people posted to Facebook and other social sites, pleading for rescue for themselves or loved ones.

Millions of people in Florida are without power as a result of Hurricane Ian's devastation. This time-lapse of a surge in Fort Myers reveals the ...

[Watch this live webcam video of the approaching storm in Florida](https://boingboing.net/2022/09/28/watch-this-live-webcam-video-of-the-approaching-storm-in-florida.html) [READ THE REST](https://boingboing.net/2022/09/28/watch-this-live-webcam-video-of-the-approaching-storm-in-florida.html) [Teacher removed from Florida school after racist outburst goes viral](https://boingboing.net/2022/09/22/class-act-teacher-removed-from-florida-school-after-racist-outburst-goes-viral.html) [READ THE REST](https://boingboing.net/2022/09/22/class-act-teacher-removed-from-florida-school-after-racist-outburst-goes-viral.html) [Florida gift shop flooded to draw attention to the state's climate emergency](https://boingboing.net/2022/09/20/florida-gift-shop-flooded-to-draw-attention-to-the-states-climate-emergency.html) [READ THE REST](https://boingboing.net/2022/09/20/florida-gift-shop-flooded-to-draw-attention-to-the-states-climate-emergency.html) [Babbel is a fast track to language fluency. - hurricanes - florida - COMMENTS Millions of people in Florida are without power as a result of Hurricane Ian's devastation. - TWEET

Ian was a tropical storm early Thursday but was expected to intensify again over the Atlantic Ocean and menace the South Carolina coast.

[President Joe Biden](https://www.fox5dc.com/tag/people/joe-biden) officially declared a major disaster in Florida over the devastation and was scheduled to visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. [Northeast Florida, coastal Georgia, and the Lowcountry of South Carolina](https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/hurricane-ian-tracker-georgia-coast-preparations-path-updates). [Hurricane Ian: How you can help victims and avoid scams](https://www.fox13news.com/weather/hurricane-ian-how-you-can-help-victims-and-scams-to-avoid) Deanne Criswell, the administrator of FEMA, said the agency is supporting search and rescue efforts. "We still cannot access many of the people that are in need." Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson told NBC’s "Today" that he had not been told of any deaths in the city. It said he appeared to be using a hose to drain his pool into the wide canal and fell down an incline that was "extremely soft and slippery due to the heavy rain." How many heeded mandatory evacuation orders before the storm surge washed over the island was impossible to know. Chances are your loved ones do not have ability to contact you," said the sheriff's office in Collier County, which includes Naples. "Portable towers are on the way for cell service. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told "Good Morning America" live on Thursday morning that he believed the death toll would be "in the hundreds," but later clarified that he couldn't immediately confirm the true number. Ron DeSantis later emphasized that the toll was not confirmed and was likely an estimate based on 911 calls.

More than two million people across Florida were without power, while some were trapped in flooded homes on Thursday after Hurricane Ian walloped the state.

Maximum sustained winds dropped to near 65 mph with higher gusts early Thursday, but the storm has continued to cause destruction as it moves northeast. Florida’s eastern coast may also see a storm surge of 6 feet. It was moving northeast at 9 mph. [Para información en español de Noticias Telemundo haga click aquí](https://www.telemundo.com/noticias) Maximum sustained winds dropped to near 65 mph with higher gusts early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said, but the storm has continued to cause destruction as it moves northeast. Hurricane Ian’s maximum sustained winds dropped to 75 mph by early Thursday, the day after it struck Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm. But northeastern and central Florida were forecast to get 10 to 20 inches of rain, and up to 30 inches in some spots, the National Hurricane Center said. Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday as it continued to batter Florida. More than 2.4 million people across Florida were without power early Thursday morning after Hurricane Ian walloped the state, bringing 150 mph winds and life-threatening storm surge. [Florida ](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ian-strengthens-hurricane-cuba-florida-floods-rcna49362)were without power Thursday morning after [Hurricane Ian](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hurricane-ian-barrels-florida-extremely-dangerous-major-hurricane-rcna49727), now a tropical storm, walloped the state as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S., causing widespread devastation and flooding that trapped residents in their homes. [slamming into Florida’s southwest coast](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/hurricane-ian-live-updates-rcna49729) as a major Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon, bringing 150 mph winds and life-threatening storm surge. Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday morning after

Streaming with multiple cameras, Severe Studios, a camera at Fort Myers Beach in Florida went viral amid flooding from Hurricane Ian.

A clip tweeted by meteorologist Micheal Bettes had more than 5 million views within six hours of its posting. Thank you for your service" and "Cam 9 went 6 rounds with a heavyweight. Live commenters reacted once the camera went offline, with comments like "RIP Cam 9. "I think we have gone almost completely underwater. [Flooded homes, hospital damaged as Hurricane Ian continues to wallop Florida](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-live-updates-damage-forecast-florida/10457271002/) [was caught on a storm chaser's live stream](https://bit.ly/3xY69Uc) as [Hurricane Ian](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-live-updates-damage-forecast-florida/10457271002/) neared landfall on Wednesday.

See areas around Fort Myers and Florida's southwest coast that experienced dangerous storm surges and extensive flooding.

Officials are still working to assess the extent of damage caused by the storm and its subsequent floods, as reports emerge of destroyed homes, damaged power lines and disrupted water supplies. [the Sanibel Causeway](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/sanibel-island-causeway-hurricane-ian.html) and Pine Island Bridge, which connect the mainland to two barrier islands near Fort Myers. Ron DeSantis said that both bridges would require “structural rebuilds.” A spokesperson for the Coast Guard confirmed that crews flew over Sanibel Island on Thursday to airlift some people to safety. Video footage showed storm surges in Fort Myers Beach nearly reaching the roofs of some one-story homes. Island The city is also responding to fires and extensive flooding; some areas are under three to four feet of water.

Damaged homes and debris are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla. on Sept. 29. Photo: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee.

[Florida begins recovery efforts as Ian moves through state](/2022/09/29/florida-hurricane-ian-recovery) [Hurricane Ian](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-storm-surge-southwest-florida), which continued to move northeast as a [tropical storm](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/live-hurricane-ian-southwest-florida) across the state Thursday on its way to the Carolinas. [2.6 million](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-florida-power-outage) in the state were without power Thursday after Ian brought strong winds, " [life-threatening](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/290259.shtml), catastrophic" flooding, and [storm surges](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-storm-surge-southwest-florida) as high as 12 feet in some areas. [Florida begins recovery efforts as Ian moves through state](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/florida-hurricane-ian-recovery) [Biden intends to visit Florida and Puerto Rico after hurricane devastation](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/biden-visit-florida-puerto-rico) [Live updates: Hurricane warning issued for South Carolina coast](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/live-updates-tropical-storm-ian-georgia-carolinas-thursday) [widespread power outages](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/hurricane-ian-florida-power-outage) and [flash flooding](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/florida-hurricane-ian-flooding) as Ian crossed through the state Wednesday after making landfall in the Fort Myers area as a Category 4 hurricane. [re-intensifying Tropical Storm Ian](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/27/live-hurricane-ian-southwest-florida) heads [over to the Carolinas](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/live-updates-tropical-storm-ian-georgia-carolinas-thursday) on Thursday, Florida is dealing with severe damage in the hurricane's aftermath.

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — On the road into Fort Myers Beach, cars are left abandoned in the roadway, where they stalled when Hurricane Ian's storm surge ...

“It was literally like being in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico,” Siefert said. “That’s how I pay the bills and survive,” he said. “And for the most part it did. Despite the interior staying relatively free from water, Siefert said fear and uncertainty prompted him to lift his disabled wife onto a dresser. Siefert’s home is more than a block from the beach and about 6 feet (2 meters) above sea level, he estimated. Rescue workers were taking equipment over to the island on small boats and bringing people back, a half-dozen or so at a time. “It must have been a strong storm,” said Robert Leisure, who has owned the marina for two years. “We had a Tiki hut over there,” he said, pointing to an empty spot. “I own the land, but I’ll have to scrap the trailer,” said Goodison, a carpenter. The surge also blasted the walls off the marina’s offices and flattened its second floor. “But you’ve got to have some place to live.” But his furniture and family mementoes were gone, submerged when a 5-foot (1.5-meter) surge of water plowed across the 60-home community of retirees and working people.