Ian wreaks havoc in Florida

Hurricane Ian killed at least 23 people as it passed through Florida, state authorities announced Friday.

Many of the victims drowned, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a statement.

A number of media outlets reported greater casualties, and CNN reported that 45 people had died.

Hurricane "Ian" swept the Gulf coast of the US state of Florida, on Wednesday, and hit it with strong storms and torrential rain, in one of the strongest storms to strike the United States in the past few years.

"Ian" intensified and turned into a category four hurricane, with winds of up to 241 kilometers per hour, before falling to the third degree.

The hurricane cut off power to more than a million homes in Florida, according to the "Power Outage" website.

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