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Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida on Wednesday, one of the most powerful storms on record in the U.S., flooding streets and destroying trees along the coast while moving at a crawling pace, threatening catastrophic flooding over large areas .
Just an hour after the major storm pulled ashore, the coastal sheriff’s office reported that it had received a large number of calls from people trapped in their homes. The center of the hurricane struck near Cayo Costa, a protected barrier island west of densely populated Fort Myers.
Mark Pritchett walked out of his home in Venice as the hurricane made landfall about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south. He called it “horrible.”
“I really can’t stand the wind,” Pritchett wrote in a text message. “The rain shoots like needles. My street is a river. Limbs and trees fall. And the worst is yet to come.”
The Category 4 storm hit the coast with winds of 150 mph (241 km/h) and pushed a wall of storm surge that accumulated during its slow march in the Gulf of Mexico. More than 1 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power. The storm had previously swept through Cuba, killing two people and knocking down the country’s power grid.
About 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate southwest Florida before Ian’s attack, but by law no one can be forced to flee. While expected to weaken into a tropical storm as it travels inland at about 9 mph (14 kph), Ian’s hurricane-strength winds are likely to be felt in central Florida.
“It’s going to be a nasty bad day, two days,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, stressing that people on the road along Ian’s coast should Rush to the safest shelter and stay there.
Jackson Boone leaves his home near the coast to squat with employees and their pets at a law firm in Venice. Boone suddenly opened a door, and the wind and rain were howling.
“We’re seeing tree damage, horizontal rain, high winds — I think it’s 100-plus degrees outside right now,” Boone said by phone. “We had an oak tree in its 50s that fell.”
A video released by the Naples Fire Service shows firefighters struggling to salvage gear from a firetruck parked in deeper water outside a garage after the ground floor of a fire station in Naples was submerged in about 3 feet of water. Naples is located in Collier County, and the sheriff’s department reported on Facebook that it was receiving “a large number of calls from people trapped in their homes” and would prioritize contact with those “reporting a life-threatening medical emergency in deep water.”
Ian made landfall with winds that made it the fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the United States, along with several other storms. These included Hurricane Charlie, which hit nearly the same spot on the Florida coast in August 2004, killing 10 people and causing $14 billion in damage.
Ian quickly strengthened overnight, prompting Fort Myers handyman Tom Hoffer to abandon plans to weather the hurricane at home and travel across the state to Fort Lauderdale.
“We were going to stay and then decide when to get up, and they said it was 155 mph,” Hawver said. “We don’t have generators. I just don’t see the benefit of sitting in the dark, in a hot house, and watching the water pour in from your house.”
Florida residents rushed to board their homes before the impact, hid valuables upstairs and joined the long line of cars leaving the coast.
Some decided to try to ride out the storm. Tampa delivery driver Jared Lewis said his home has weathered hurricanes in the past, although not as strong as Ian.
“It’s kind of scary and makes you a little anxious,” Lewis said. “Now you’re in the 4 or 5 category after nothing last year. We’re more used to 2s and 3s.”
Ian made landfall more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa and St. Petersburg, saving the densely populated Tampa Bay area from being directly hit by a major hurricane for the first time since 1921. Officials warned residents that Tampa could still experience strong winds and up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain.
“Please, please, please be aware that we are not out of danger,” Tampa Mayor Jane Custer said in a video on Twitter. “Floods will still happen.”
Flash floods are possible throughout Florida. Hazards include contaminated residue from Florida’s phosphate fertilizer mining industry, with more than a billion tons of micro-radioactive waste contained in huge ponds that could overflow in heavy rain.
The federal government dispatched 300 ambulances and medical teams to deliver 3.7 million meals and 3.5 million liters of water after the storm passed.
“We’re going to be there to help you clean up and rebuild and get Florida back into action,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday. “We will be there every step of the way. This is my absolute commitment to the people of Florida.”
The governors of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina all preemptively declared states of emergency. Forecasters are predicting Ian will turn toward those states as a tropical storm, possibly bringing more flooding and rain over the weekend after crossing Florida.
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