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Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

author:Observer.com

Part of the roof of the hospital's intensive care unit was torn off, and the house was full of water.

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

Yachts float on city roads.

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

The island's causeway was flooded.

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

Comprehensive U.S. National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), CNN, Fox News reported that on September 28, local time, Hurricane "Ian" landed in Florida, becoming one of the strongest storms in the history of the United States, and has now caused at least 19 deaths. U.S. President Joe Biden said Ian could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the hurricane "causing historic damage."

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people and lifted the roof of an intensive care unit

According to CNN, as of the evening of the 29th local time, 19 people have been confirmed to have died in the hurricane.

According to data PowerOutage.us by the US power tracking website, as of 15:32 Beijing time on September 30, more than 2.12 million users in Florida had lost power.

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

Screenshot PowerOutage.us American Power Tracking website

The website said that Florida's Hardy, Charlotte and Lee counties were almost completely cut off from power, and most of the southwestern counties were cut off.

Photos and videos on social media showed many homes flooded as a result of Hurricane Ian.

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"
Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

Foreign media reported that some people were trapped on the 22nd floor by "Ian", part of the roof of the intensive care unit of a hospital was torn off by the hurricane, and some people saw "debris everywhere" after the hurricane.

Fort Myers resident Tom Johnson told AFP: "I was scared because I had never been through this before. It was the most terrible sound, and debris flew everywhere, and the doors flew away. The family, a resident of Valerie Bartley, put a dining table on the door, fearing that the hurricane "will tear our house to shreds."

Fort Myers resident Terry Mazany said in an interview with Microsoft National Broadcasting Corporation (MSNBC) that he and his wife and 91-year-old mother were trapped on the 22nd floor, the water level was rising, the wind was shaking the building, "we were trapped, eight feet of water around us, the elevator was closed."

Fort Myers' Scott Carlos didn't think the floods would have affected his apartment on the 4th floor, but he was wrong, telling CNN, "There was actually water coming into my apartment and waves rushing into the building." At one point, the waves were at least 10 feet high on our east side." After the storm, he noticed that the community was "littered with debris and everywhere with destroyed cars."

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

After the hurricane, Fort Myers was littered with debris. Figure from CNN

Birgit Bodine, an internal medicine specialist in the intensive care unit at Charlotte Hospital, said there were about 160 patients there and that part of the roof of the intensive care unit had been torn off. Staff had to wade in to move patients to a safer part of the building. Still, she said, "Luckily, every patient is in good spirits and they can see that we're doing our best." ”

Part of the roof of the Charlotte Hospital Intensive Care Unit was lifted and water was stagnant open. Figure from CNN

Susan Flack of Naples, Florida, did not follow the official evacuation order and decided to stay home. In a telephone interview with Reuters, Flake said she stayed on the second floor of the building on the 28th, the lobby was filled with water several feet deep, and the power was cut off all day, but she was not worried about her safety, "hysteria is useless."

Florida's governor called "Ian" the historic devastation

Biden said on the 29th that "Ian" may be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history, "it is not clear the specific data, but we have heard preliminary reports that may cause significant loss of life."

He added that the government knows that "many families are being harmed" and that the federal government will bear most of the cost of reconstruction.

Jimmy Patronis, Florida's chief financial officer, told CNN that "Ian" is becoming the biggest natural disaster in the state's history.

De Santis said on the morning of the 29th that the impact of the hurricane is historic, and the rising water level means that this is a "500-year flood" "I think we have never seen a flood like this, it will cause damage to the homes of many people."

He said late that day that the death toll would rise as assessments of the hurricane's impact continued to advance in the coming days. However, as of the evening of the 29th, the death toll has not been finalized.

He said he investigated the losses in Charlotte and Lee counties and that "some of the losses are indescribable." Seeing cars and houses floating in the water, he said, "the worst damage I saw happened at Fort Myers Beach." Some houses were razed to the ground, and some were left with only concrete slabs."

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

Fort Myers Beach after the hurricane. Image from Twitter

De Santis also said the Sanibel Island Causeway, the only road to Sanibel Island, will need to be "overhauled, or need to be completely rebuilt."

Foreign netizens posted a comparison chart of the causeway of Sanibel Island before and after the hurricane. Image from Twitter

The latest news on its personal website on the 29th shows that since the search and rescue operation began on the morning of the 29th, more than 700 people have been rescued in Charlotte County and Lee County. At present, power has been restored to 200,000 users.

Florida Gov. Casey DeSantis, the wife of Florida's governor, announced the launch of the Florida Disaster Fund to assist in relief efforts, which raised more than $10 million within 24 hours of its launch.

Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said on the 29th that "Ian" was one of the fierce storms he had witnessed for decades. He said it was heartbreaking to see the water in his downtown apartment and to see the water rise and flood all the shops on the first floor.

Anderson also said on the evening of the 29th that the Fort Myers Fire Department has rescued about 200 people, and the city's search and rescue operation has ended, and no people have died.

He pointed out that the city will open "several food, water and ice distribution centers" on the 30th.

Biden has approved a state of emergency in South Carolina

The report shows that hurricane "Ian" strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the afternoon of the 29th, is passing through Florida, heading for Georgia and Carolina, and is expected to make landfall on the 30th local time. The National Weather Service cautioned that "Ian" could trigger life-threatening flooding in Georgia and Carolina.

The latest news from the White House website shows that Biden has approved a state of emergency in South Carolina. The President authorized the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and provide assistance when necessary to save lives, protect property, public health and safety, and mitigate or avoid the threat of disaster in all 46 counties of South Carolina.

Hurricane Ian has killed 19 people in the U.S., with Florida governor saying it "caused historic damage"

Screenshot of the message on the White House website about "Biden approving South Carolina into a state of emergency."

According to previous reports, Chuck Watson, a geophysicist and disaster risk simulation expert at Enki Research, estimated that the damage caused by Hurricane Ian to the United States is expected to be between $60 billion and $70 billion.

This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.

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