- Meanwhile, on his way through the US state of Florida, “Ian” has weakened.
- The US Hurricane Center has announced winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour, and “Ian” is now considered a tropical storm.
- Despite the weakness, a strip of land more than a hundred kilometers wide was subjected to violent storms. Ian is considered one of the most powerful hurricanes in Florida history.
As a Category 4 hurricane, “Ian” hit the west coast of Florida and brought violent winds, rain, and storms. Winds reached 240 kilometers per hour on Wednesday afternoon (local time). The center of the cyclone hit the coast near the city of Cape Coral.
Wind speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour were first measured early Thursday morning. Then meteorologists lowered Ian’s rating to the least strong by one in five. With the achievement of up to 100 kilometers per hour, they downgraded “Ian” to a tropical storm.
However, experts continued to warn of catastrophic, even life-threatening flooding. Only with sunrise should the actual extent of the devastation become clearer.
A storm is blowing, and there is no electricity
Water flooded streets and buildings in southwest Florida. More than 2.5 million people were temporarily without electricity during the night. American media assumed that this number might continue to rise due to the devastation. More than two million people have been asked to leave their homes.
Caption:
Image of the devastation: Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida.
Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters
Some storms were about three and a half meters high, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said.
According to meteorologists, the cyclone moved northeast at only about 13 kilometers per hour. This made it even more dangerous considering the strong winds and rain.
Television footage showed how rain was falling on the streets and that only the roofs of cars were coming out of the floodwaters and debris flying in the air. Governor DeSantis said Ian should make the list of the five deadliest hurricanes in Florida. He has since asked for help from US President Joe Biden.
DeSantis had previously prepared residents in his state for severe damage from approaching Hurricane Ian. Residents were urgently warned not to leave their homes on Thursday morning, for example to assess the damage. Even if the hurricane gets away, there is still a risk of debris, broken power lines and the like.
The US Department of Defense said several thousand National Guard personnel in Florida have been activated and are on alert. These can, for example, clean roads and assist in search and rescue operations.
In the course of Thursday, Ian should move first up the east coast of Florida and then head to the coast of South Carolina on Friday.
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