South Carolina records severe flooding by Ian 0:41
(CNN) --
Hurricane Ian slammed into South Carolina on Friday afternoon with heavy rains, destructive winds and life-threatening storm surge, after killing at least 45 people in Florida. and having left behind a trail of destruction of apocalyptic magnitude.
Ian, which made landfall near Georgetown, unleashed deadly flooding and enough force to alter the coastal landscape.
At 5 pm (Miami time) Ian strengthened into Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian with 70 mph (112 km/h) winds as it moved inland over the Carolinas.
Areas of South Carolina Threatened by Hurricane Ian
"This is a dangerous storm that will bring strong winds and lots of water," South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster tweeted.
"Be smart, make good decisions, check on your loved ones and stay safe."
Reports of property damage, power outages and water rescue calls have begun to mount as officials across the state continue to issue dire warnings for residents to stay safe.
A hurricane warning is in effect from the Savannah River, on the Georgia-South Carolina state line, to Cape Fear, North Carolina.
Considerable flooding from seawater and rain is possible, especially in parts of the South Carolina coast, where storm surges of up to 2.1 meters and 101 to 305 mm of rain could occur, according to forecasts.
And a tornado watch covering nearly five million people will be in effect until 10 p.m. ET for parts of the Carolinas and Virginia, including Myrtle Beach, Wilmington, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, according to the Storm Prediction Center. .
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More than 211,000 power outages have been reported in South Carolina, as well as more than 82,000 in North Carolina, as of 3:50 p.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.us.
In addition, two piers in South Carolina, Cherry Grove in North Myrtle Beach and Pawley's Island, north of Charleston, have partially collapsed this afternoon due to the cyclone.
"It's a pretty scary sight," Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said of Hurricane Ian.
"I'm seeing too many cars go by. And I think people don't realize how dangerous it is to be out in these kinds of conditions. We've seen a lot of people's cars get stuck and emergency personnel have to come out to rescue." to the people".
The airfield at Charleston International Airport was closed Friday due to high winds, the airport said.
And Myrtle Beach residents are urged to stay indoors during the hurricane, Mayor Brenda Bethune told CNN.
🌀 Live track of Hurricane Ian: where it is in real time and where it is going
The cyclone is likely to leave lasting changes to Atlantic landscapes.
The coasts of Georgia and South Carolina may be significantly altered because powerful waves and storm surges brought by Ian could flood coastal sand dunes, according to the US Geological Survey.
In addition to flooding communities behind the dunes, the cyclone could push sand and deposit it inland, potentially "reducing the height of protective dunes, altering beach profiles, and leaving areas behind the dunes more vulnerable to future cyclones," the agency said.
In Florida: at least 45 dead
Florida, meanwhile, grapples with the dizzying destruction Ian wrought across much of the peninsula on Wednesday and Thursday after it slammed into the southwestern coast as a Category 4 cyclone and ripped through central and northeastern areas.
At least 45 deaths have been recorded in the state.
Coastal homes have been swept out to sea, buildings are destroyed across the state, and floodwaters have blighted homes and businesses and trapped residents, even inland, in places like the Orlando area.
A resident of Orlando, Florida is rescued on Thursday.
Credit: John Raoux/AP
There have been hundreds of rescues by land, air and sea, with residents trapped in homes or stranded on rooftops, and many welfare checks have been conducted by searchers, especially in the Fort Myers and Naples areas, where storm surge flooded streets and houses.
Roger Desjarlais, county manager for Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, told CNN on Friday that it's not an exaggeration to say that Hurricane Ian decimated parts of the area and "there has to be a lot of fatalities."
"It looked as if someone had just fallen from the sky, picked up hotels and buildings and carried them away. So much so that in many places there wasn't even debris," Desjarlais said.
"We also know that not as many people were evacuated from those islands as we expected. We know there have to be a lot of fatalities yet to be accounted for."
Biden: The largest rescue team in history has been deployed to Florida
President Joe Biden continued to pledge federal support for Florida as it grapples with the devastation caused by the hurricane, which he said is "probably among the worst ... in the nation's history."
“We are just beginning to see the scale of that destruction,” Biden said, adding that the largest team of search and rescue experts “in recent history” was currently deployed to the state.
"The reconstruction is going to take months, years."
And now, the aftermath of the hurricane poses new and deadly dangers.
Some backwaters are electrified, authorities have warned, while maneuvering through buildings and debris-strewn streets, many without working traffic lights, poses a risk of injury.
Lack of air conditioning can lead to heat illnesses, and improper use of generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
How to get help, stay safe and stay sane after a devastating hurricane
In North Port, between Fort Myers and Sarasota, Rosanna Walker stood Thursday at the flood-damaged home where she survived the storm.
Part of her drywall ceiling was hanging down.
"And all of a sudden, the water was coming through the doors: upstairs, downstairs, the windows here," he told CNN's John Berman.
"It's all in my closets; I have to empty my closets."
"Everything is ruined."
Here's what to know about the destruction in Florida:
Florida deaths:
At least 45 deaths suspected to be related to Ian have been reported in Florida.
Unconfirmed deaths are being processed by local medical examiners, who decide whether they are related to the disaster, said state emergency management director Kevin Guthrie.
Power outages:
Florida had more than 1.7 million power outages as of Friday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
Most of the counties with the highest percentage of residents without power are in the Southwest, including Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto and Hardee.
Historic flooding in Florida:
Record flooding was reported in central and northern Florida, including at least three rivers that reached flood records.
Orlando authorities warned residents of dangerous flooding, which exceeded 12 inches in some areas.
Hundreds of rescues and thousands of evacuations: There
have been more than 700 rescues across Florida so far, the governor said Thursday, with thousands of evacuees reported.
In Lee County, a hospital system had to evacuate more than 1,000 patients after its water supply was cut off, while other widespread evacuations have been reported at prisons and nursing homes.
In Fort Myers, the fire chief was "pretty calm" Friday morning that everyone who needed help there had been rescued, Mayor Kevin Anderson said.
Much of Fort Myers Beach Washed Away:
A helicopter flight over Fort Myers Beach shows utter devastation: empty or debris-strewn lots where homes and businesses used to stand, and boats dumped into mangroves.
"We're talking about no structure left. ... We're talking about homes that were dumped into the bay. This is a long-term fix, and it's life changing," Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. .
Ian's before and after in Fort Myers and Sanibel 2:27
Coast Guard continues
rescue flights
in Florida this Friday: Coast Guard crews rescued 95 people in Florida on Thursday, including lifting people out of flooded areas by helicopter, and rescue flights will continue this Friday, Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson said.
"We're going to find anyone else who needs help," he said.
Coastal Islands Cut Off from the Mainland:
Southwest Florida's Sanibel and Captiva Islands are cut off from the mainland after parts of a critical elevated highway were washed away in the cyclone.
At least two people were killed in the storm on Sanibel, and the bridge may have to be completely rebuilt, local officials said.
Chip Farrar, a resident of the small island of Matlacha, told CNN that 50 feet of the road essential to reaching the mainland bridge is also gone and a second nearby bridge has also collapsed.
Insured
losses
in Florida can be huge: Ian may have caused as much as $47 billion in insured losses in Florida, according to an estimate by property analytics firm CoreLogic, which could make it the second most expensive storm in the history of the year. state when adjusted for inflation after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
-- Joe Sutton, Virginia Langmaid, Keith Allen, Amir Vera, Eric Levenson, Allison Chinchar, Brandon Miller, Nick Valencia, Carma Hassan, Amanda Musa, Amy Simonson and Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.
South Carolina Hurricane Ian
