Hurricane Ian devastates parts of Florida and South Carolina, killing dozens

Rescuers were searching for survivors among the rubble of flooded homes in Florida, while authorities in South Carolina began to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful and expensive hurricanes in U.S. history, as it continued to push north.

The powerful storm terrified millions for most of the week, hitting western Cuba before sweeping across Florida from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, where it gathered enough force for a final blow against South Carolina. s attack.

Now weakened to a tropical cyclone, Ian is expected to pass through central North Carolina on Saturday before moving into Virginia and New York.

At least 30 people have been confirmed dead, including 27 in Florida — mostly by drowning, but others in the tragic aftermath of the storm.

An elderly couple died after their oxygen machines were turned off after losing power, authorities said.

Meanwhile, on Friday, distraught residents waded through knee-high water as they rescued what they could from their flooded homes and loaded them onto rafts and canoes.

In South Carolina, Ian’s center goes ashore near Georgetown, a small community on the shores of Wynya Bay about 60 miles north of historic Charleston.

The storm washed away parts of four piers along the coast, two of which are connected to the popular tourist town of Myrtle Beach.

Friday’s storm was much weaker than when Ian made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast earlier this week.

Authorities and volunteers are still assessing the damage, and shocked residents try to make sense of what they’ve just experienced.

Polis Island, a beach community about 73 miles from Charleston on the South Carolina coast, was one of Ian’s hardest hit places.

The bridges on Pawleys Island are littered with palm fronds, pine needles and even a kayak salvaged from the nearby coastline. A sea crossing is littered with the wreckage of several houseboats that were torn apart and knocked over their stakes in the storm.

Even though Ian had long crossed Florida, new questions kept emerging. A 14-mile stretch of Interstate 75 in the Port Charlotte area was closed in both directions late Friday as a flood of water swelled the Myakka River.

Myakka reached a record high of 12.73 feet Saturday morning, said Ross Giarratana, a meteorologist with the Tampa National Weather Service.

Further southeast, the Peace River was also in major flooding stages early Saturday in Polk, Hardee and DeSoto counties. Most of these points have not peaked, Mr Giarratana said.

“It’s crazy to see how fast the river is rising,” he said. “We knew we were doing some records.”

The official death toll climbed throughout the day on Friday, with authorities warning the death toll could be higher once crews clean up the damage more fully.

According to disaster modelling firm Karen Clark and Co., Hurricane Ian could cause “more than $100bn (£80bn)” in damages, including $63bn (£56bn) in privately insured losses.

If the numbers are confirmed, it would make Ian at least the fourth-most-costly hurricane in U.S. history.