Hurricane Ian Lashes South Carolina as Florida Surveys Devastation
In Florida, rescue crews piloted boats and waded through riverine streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped amid flooded homes and buildings shattered by Hurricane Ian.
By Meg Kinnard and Adriana Gomez Licon ••
NBCUniversal Media, LLC
President Joe Biden reiterated on Friday the federal government’s commitment to helping those impacted by Hurricane Ian.
A revived Hurricane Ian pounded coastal South Carolina on Friday, ripping apart piers and flooding streets after the ferocious storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida, trapping thousands in their homes and leaving at least 34 people dead.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the deaths included a 22-year-old woman ejected in an ATV rollover Friday because of a road washout and a 71-year-old man who died earlier of head injuries when he fell off a roof while putting up rain shutters. Many of the other deaths were drownings, including that of a 68-year-old woman swept into the ocean by a wave.
Another three people died in Cuba earlier in the week as the storm churned northward. The death toll was expected to increase substantially once emergency officials have an opportunity to search many of the hardest-hit areas.
Ian’s center came ashore near Georgetown with much weaker winds than when it crossed Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday as one of the strongest storms to ever hit the U.S., according to the National Hurricane Center.
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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.
Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through riverine streets in Florida after the storm to save thousands of people trapped amid flooded homes and shattered buildings .
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that 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.
Officials fear the death toll could rise significantly, given the wide territory swamped by the storm.
Among those killed were an 80-year-old woman and a 94-year-old man who relied on oxygen machines that stopped working amid power outages, as well as a 67-year-old man who was waiting to be rescued and fell into rising water inside his home, authorities said.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said first responders have focused so far on “hasty” searches, aimed at emergency rescues and initial assessments, which will be followed by two additional waves of searches. Initial responders who come across possible remains are leaving them without confirming, he said Friday, describing as an example the case of a submerged home.
Hurricane Ian Heads For South Carolina After Drenching Florida With Heavy Rain
Note: Recorded precipitation from 7 a.m. Sept. 27 to 7 a.m. Sept. 30. Source: NOAA Amy O’Kruk/NBC
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A boat pushes against a Fort Myers apartment after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on Sept. 29, 2022, Florida. Brenda Brennan, pictured, said the boat floated in around 7pm.
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Boats are left stranded on the shore in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, on Sept. 29, 2022. Hurricane Ian left much of coastal southwest Florida in darkness early on Thursday, bringing “catastrophic” flooding that left officials readying a huge emergency response to a storm of rare intensity.
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Cars make their way through a flooded street in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Sept. 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain to the area causing severe damage.
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Lew Hendrix collects palm branches blown down by the outer bands of Hurricane Ian in Tampa, Florida, Sept. 28, 2022.
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Carol Nies, left, and Heidi Smith survey damage left by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, Sept. 29, 2022.
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Streets signs are down in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida on Sept. 29, 2022.
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Boats are pushed up on a causeway after Hurricane Ian passed through the area, Sept. 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain to the area causing severe damage.
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A lit portrait of Che Guevara is seen in Revolution Square during a blackout in Havana, Sept. 29, 2022. Cuba has been left in the dark since September 27 due to a widespread blackout caused by damage to its power grid following Hurricane Ian.
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A woman holds an umbrella inverted by the wind in Tampa, Florida, on Sept. 28, 2022.
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An airplane is overturned by a likely tornado produced by the outer bands of Hurricane Ian, Sept. 28, 2022, at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph, just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status.
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An uprooted tree, toppled by strong winds from the outer bands of Hurricane Ian, in a parking lot of a shopping center, Sept. 28, 2022, in Cooper City, Florida.
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A sign limits the sale of water in Tampa, Florida, Sept. 27, 2022, ahead of Hurricane Ian’s arrival.
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Utility poles tilted by Hurricane Ian in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Sept. 27, 2022.
Ramon Espinosa/AP
People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 28, 2022. Cuba remained in the dark early Wednesday after Hurricane Ian knocked out its power grid and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it hit the island’s western tip as a major storm.
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A man on a street in Havana during a blackout, Sept. 27, 2022. Cuba was left in the dark right after Hurricane Ian swept through the western part of the island, causing damage to the power grid and knocking out power for the entire island.
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A blackout triggered by Hurricane Ian in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian knocked out electricity to the entire island when it hit the island’s western tip as a major storm.
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A family surveys their flooded home in Batabano, Cuba, Sept. 27, 2022, after Hurricane Ian made landfall on the island Tuesday.
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People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, Sept. 27, 2022, after Hurricane Ian swept through the area.
NASA
Hurricane Ian pictured from the International Space Station just south of Cuba, Sept. 26, 2022.
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Passenger try to reschedule their flights after many were cancelled or delayed due to Hurricane Ian, at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Sept. 27, 2022. Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane and left one million people without electricity, before it churned on a collision course with Florida over warm Gulf waters.
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People walk the beach at sunset in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Ian on Sept. 27, 2022, in Treasure Island, Florida.
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A damaged house is seen in San Juan y Martinez, Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba after Hurricane Ian swept through the island on Sept. 27, 2022.
A sign reading “Ian Not Welcome Here” is seen in Pinellas County where Hurricane Ian is projected to impact the Florida Gulf Coast in Largo, Florida, Sept. 26, 2022.
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A house is boarded up ahead of Hurricane Ian’s arrival in Indian Shores, 25 miles west of Tampa, Florida, Sept. 26, 2022.
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A shopper attempts to find water amid emptied shelves in Kissimmee, Florida, Sept. 26, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 on Tuesday, and is expected to strengthen further before making landfall along Florida’s west coast later in the week.
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A Cuban family transport personal belongings to a safe place in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 26, 2022, ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian. Cuba declared an emergency alert in its six most western provinces as fast-approaching Hurricane Ian was moving northwest towards Cuba and the Cayman Islands with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour.
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A man carries a sack of food in Batabano, Cuba, Sept. 26, 2022, ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian.
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Barbara Schueler fills sandbags in a vacant lot in preparation for Hurricane Ian in St. Pete Beach, Florida, Sept. 26, 2022.
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Shoppers wait in line outside a retail warehouse as people rush to prepare for Tropical Storm Ian, in Kissimmee, Florida, on Sept. 25, 2022.
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People pull small boats out of Havana Bay in Havana, Sept. 26, 2022, as Cuba is expected to bear the brunt of Hurricane Ian.
“The water was up over the rooftop, right, but we had a Coast Guard rescue swimmer swim down into it and he could identify that it appeared to be human remains. We do not know exactly how many,” Guthrie said.
Desperate to locate and rescue their loved ones, social media users shared phone numbers, addresses and photos of their family members and friends online for anyone who can check on them.
“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.
Orlando residents returned to flooded homes Friday, rolling up their pants to wade through muddy, knee-high water in their streets. Friends of Ramon Rodriguez dropped off ice, bottled water and hot coffee at the entrance to his subdivision, where 10 of the 50 homes were flooded and the road looked like a lake. He had no power or food at his house, and his car was trapped by the water.
“There’s water everywhere,” Rodriguez said. “The situation here is pretty bad.”
University of Central Florida students living at an apartment complex near the Orlando campus arrived to retrieve
The devastating storm surge destroyed many older homes on the barrier island of Sanibel, Florida, and gouged crevices into its sand dunes. Taller condominium buildings were intact but with the bottom floor blown out. Trees and utility poles were strewn everywhere.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marcelo shared footage of the damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
Municipal rescuers, private teams and the Coast Guard used boats and helicopters Friday to evacuate residents who stayed for the storm and then were cut off from the mainland when a causeway collapsed. Volunteers who went to the island on personal watercraft helped escort an elderly couple to an area where Coast Guard rescuers took them aboard a helicopter.
Hours after weakening to a tropical storm while crossing the Florida peninsula, Ian regained strength Thursday evening over the Atlantic. Ian made landfall in South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph). When it hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, it was a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph (240 kph).
After the heaviest of the rainfall blew through Charleston, Will Shalosky examined a large elm tree in front of his house that had fallen across his downtown street. He noted the damage could have been much worse.
“If this tree has fallen a different way, it would be in our house,” Shalosky said. “It’s pretty scary, pretty jarring.”
In North Carolina, heavy rain bands and winds crept into the state Friday afternoon. Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents to be vigilant, given that up to 8 inches (20.3 centimeters) of rain could fall in some areas, with high winds.
“Hurricane Ian is at our door. Expect drenching rain and sustained heavy winds over most of our state,” Cooper said. “Our message today is simple: Be smart and be safe.”
In Washington, President Joe Biden said he was directing “every possible action be taken to save lives and get help to survivors.”
"It’s going to take months, years to rebuild,” Biden said.
“I just want the people of Florida to know, we see what you’re going through and we’re with you.”
Residents and emergency responders in Florida recorded first-hand accounts of Hurricane Ian, which slammed into the state’s southern tip Wednesday.
