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Hurricane Ian downgraded to tropical storm as it continues to batter Florida
Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday morning, but officials have warned the powerful storm that brought life-threatening storm surges,
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Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday morning, but officials have warned the powerful storm that brought life-threatening storm surges, floods that left people stranded in their homes and knocked out power to more than 2.5 million was not over.
President Joe Biden on Thursday declared a major disaster in Florida over the devastation caused by the storm. The president ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas affected by the storm starting on Sept. 23 and onwards, the White House said in a statement.
Ian had maximum sustained winds of near 65 mph with higher gusts early Thursday as it moved slowly through central Florida on its way to the western Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.
By 5 a.m., Ian was around 55 miles southwest of Cape Canaveral and moving northeast at 9 mph, the hurricane center said.
Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa around 3 p.m. Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds, forecasters said.
The storm is believed to be one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded making landfall in Florida.
Around 2.4 million customers in Florida were without power early Thursday after Ian struck the state’s western coast, causing a path of destruction as it moved toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said Wednesday evening the damage is extensive in the county, which includes Cayo Costa, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. The full scope of the impact was not known as the storm and winds still raged.
Rescue crews were forced to wait for conditions to improve before going to the aid of people stranded by high water.
In Lee County, there were also reports of vehicles "floating out into the ocean," but Sheriff Carmine Marceno said officials were not able to investigate or respond to calls of people trapped until winds dropped below 45 mph.
“Those that are in need: We want to get to you, and we will get to you as soon as possible," he said in a video address shortly before 8 p.m.
Terry Mazany hunkered down on the 22nd floor of a Fort Myers high-rise with his wife and 91-year-old mother as the water rose and winds whipped the building.