Wind gusts of up to 185 km / h, torrential rains, waves of more than three meters, submerged cities... The United States wakes up this Thursday, September 29, stunned by the violence of Hurricane Ian, which the south of the country.
As it approached the coast, the hurricane strengthened, reaching category 4 out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
HANDOUT / AFP
After rocking Cuba last Tuesday, killing two people and plunging the island into darkness, the storm strengthened, reaching category 4, out of the 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, to make landfall along the coast of Cayo Costa.
Gusty winds swept across the southern United States on Wednesday, September 28.
RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP
With rare power, making him "
one of the five strongest hurricanes to ever hit Florida
", according to Governor Ron De Santis, Ian hit coastal towns, sparing homes, roads and vegetation. .
The southern United States is waking up to the sound of the "historic" violence of Hurricane Ian.
MARCO BELLO / REUTERS
Assailed by powerful waves, sometimes exceeding three meters, the streets of Fort Meyers, a coastal city in Florida, were engulfed.
The streets of Fort Meyers, a coastal town in Florida, were swallowed up by waves more than three meters high.
MARCO BELLO / REUTERS
Within minutes, a torrent entered the city center, leaving the roads under three meters of water.
In downtown Fort Meyers, downtown, the roads are under two meters of water.
MARCO BELLO / REUTERS
A few kilometers further south, the city of Naples was also submerged.
Dozens of people were trapped in the waves.
Firefighters rescued dozens of people trapped in the floods.
NAPLES FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT / REUTERS
Carried away by torrents of rain, the cars floating with the current.
The city of Naples in southern Florida has also been hit by major flooding.
NAPLES FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT / REUTERS
Across the territory, more than 2 million homes were without electricity, mainly around the path of the hurricane, according to the specialized site PowerOutage.
Several counties near where Ian made landfall were almost entirely without power.
The town of Fort Meyer was plunged into darkness in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
MARCO BELLO / REUTERS
After a day punctuated by high winds and heavy rainfall, the town of Punta Gorda was also plunged into darkness.
In the night, only a few buildings equipped with generators remained illuminated, the only sounds around being the roar of the wind and the pouring rain.
After a day punctuated by strong winds and torrential rains, the city was plunged into darkness.
RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP
A few hours earlier, the city had experienced a brief respite as it found itself in the eye of the hurricane.
But the squalls and the rain came back with even more force, toppling road signs and washing away pieces of roofs and tree branches.
Under the force of the waves, a boat carrying migrants capsized, slightly away from the path of the hurricane, near the archipelago of the Keys.
A boat carrying around twenty migrants capsized under the force of the waves.
GWEN FILOSA / REUTERS
In the early morning, the coastguard was looking for another 20 people, three having been rescued and four others having managed to swim to shore.
During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the hurricane weakened, returning to category 1. However, the damage is considerable.
“
This is a storm that will be talked about for many years
,” said NWS Director Ken Graham.
For her part, the director of Fema, the federal agency responsible for dealing with natural disasters, Deanne Criswell, warned that Ian would continue to be a "
very dangerous
" storm for "
the days to come
".
Ian would continue to be a " very dangerous
" storm
for "
the days to come
".
RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP
