Hurricane Ian: floods, devastated cities, downed trees, Florida fears a heavy human toll

Devastated cities, millions of people without electricity but above all a human toll that could be "substantial"... Florida was just beginning this Thursday to take the measure of the considerable damage caused by Hurricane Ian.

“This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” US President Joe Biden said during a visit to the offices of the federal agency that fights natural disasters, Fema.

“The figures (…) are not yet clear but we are receiving initial reports of human losses which could be substantial”, he added, ensuring that he wanted to go to the southern state as soon as possible, but also on the island of Puerto Rico, recently devastated by Hurricane Fiona.

As the images of streets transformed into canals of murky water multiply, of boats thrown to the ground like simple toys, of smashed houses, the latest balance sheet in Florida reports at least eight dead.

An official in Charlotte County, in the west of the state, confirmed to CNN the death of six people, without giving further details.

A spokesperson for Volusia County, on the east coast, announced that it had recorded "the first death linked to Hurricane Ian", a 72-year-old man, "went out to empty his swimming pool during the storm".

An official in Osceola County, in the east-central part of the state, told CNN of the death of a resident of a nursing home.

At the same time, the search continued to find twenty passengers from a migrant boat which capsized on Wednesday near the Keys archipelago.

“We have never seen floods like this,” said Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“Some of these areas, Cape Coral, the city of Fort Myers, were really flooded and really devastated by this storm,” he continued, calling the damage “historic.”

"We didn't know what was going on outside"

Ian, since downgraded to a tropical storm, made landfall Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane (on a scale of 5) in southwest Florida, before continuing its passage through the state, carrying strong winds and torrential rains.

In the port of Fort Myers, some boats were partially submerged, another having run aground on the shore.

Thursday morning, more than 2.6 million homes or businesses remained without electricity, out of a total of 11 million, according to the specialized site PowerOutage.

VIDEO.

A gang of 'cowboys' rescues an elderly man trapped in his flooded car

Punta Gorda, a small coastal town located in the path of the hurricane, woke up without power.

As firefighters and police roamed the streets to assess the damage, a bulldozer cleared fallen palm branches.

Ian uprooted some trees and knocked down utility poles and street signs.

Its rains flooded the streets of the marina, where the water still reached the calves Thursday morning.

Townsman Joe Ketcham chose to stay home on Wednesday, despite evacuation orders.

"For now I'm relieved, but yesterday I was worried," said the 70-year-old.

“It was incessant, it was constantly blowing over our heads.

You could hear the metal banging against the building.

It was dark.

We didn't know what was going on outside," he said.

Lisamarie Pierro, who also lives in the city, said she was relieved to see her house "still standing", without flooding.

Ian will hit South Carolina on Friday

Faced with the extent of the damage, US President Joe Biden declared a state of major natural disaster on Thursday morning, a decision to release additional federal funds for the affected regions.

Although weakened, Storm Ian continued its destructive course towards South Carolina on Thursday.

It is expected to strengthen, regaining hurricane strength when it makes landfall in South Carolina on Friday, before weakening rapidly again.

As the surface of the oceans warms, the frequency of the most intense hurricanes, with stronger winds and greater precipitation, increases, but not the total number of hurricanes.