Reportage
Storm Ian hits South Carolina after 'historic' damage in Florida
Damage from Storm Ian after passing through Fort Myers, Florida on September 30, 2022. © Rebecca Blackwell / AP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
Storm Ian continued its path in the United States and brought its high winds and heavy rains to the state of South Carolina on Friday September 30.
It leaves behind completely devastated Florida cities, such as Fort Myers, as well as at least 23 victims and nearly 2 million homes without electricity across the country.
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Authorities in the state of Florida, in the southeastern United States,
confirmed Friday evening a new death toll
of 23 victims, most of them by drowning and the vast majority of them elderly.
Some American media evoke an even heavier human toll, the CNN television channel evoking 45 deaths.
After
ravaging Florida
, Hurricane Ian tracked toward South Carolina, where it made landfall early Friday afternoon near Georgetown as a Category 1 hurricane, accompanied by blowing winds. up to 140 km/h, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Although it then weakened into a post-tropical storm (with winds up to 110 km/h), its downpours caused sudden flooding in this state and in North Carolina, where certain areas could receive up to 20 cm of precipitation.
US President Joe Biden has urged residents to heed calls for caution from local authorities.
In South Carolina, they had notably urged the population not to drive on the roads invaded by water.
“
It's a dangerous storm that will bring high winds and lots of water, but the most dangerous thing will be human error.
Be smart, make good decisions, check in on loved ones and stay safe
,” Governor Henry McMaster tweeted.
Ian is expected to “
continue to weaken overnight and dissipate over western North Carolina or Virginia late tomorrow
,” Saturday, according to the Hurricane Center.
Some 580,000 homes and businesses were already without power Friday evening in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, according
to the specialized site PowerOutage
.
A lot of prayers have been answered - this storm is not as bad as it could have been, but don't let your guard down yet.
We are not out of the woods, there is water on the roads, still heavy winds, and it is still dangerous in many parts of the state.
— Gov.
Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) September 30, 2022
“ Historic
” damage
in Florida
In Florida, in addition to the heavy human toll, the material damage is "
historic
" and the level reached by the rising waters was unprecedented, according to Governor Ron DeSantis.
Streets and homes were flooded and boats moored in marinas were tossed onto land by the storm.
As of Saturday morning, nearly 1.4 million customers there remained without power two days after Ian passed through, according to PowerOutage.
A man rescues a resident after Storm Ian hit Fort Myers on September 29, 2022. © Marco Bello / Reuters
In Fort Myers, in southwest Florida, the scale of the devastation surprises residents.
These are starting to come back but the restoration looks long.
The boats at the Fort Myers marina have been blown up like a house of cards: dozens of gutted hulls are now lying on dry land, reports our special correspondent on the spot,
David Thomson
.
“
Biblical flood
”, “
worse than Katrina
”
"
Those two big boats over there were mine, they're totally destroyed
," said Mike, a luxury ship salesman in Fort Myers, pointing to two 15-meter wrecks smashed on the concrete.
“
The water rose so high that the docks went over the pillars and everything washed away
!
Four meters of water, It's a biblical flood.
I've been here 37 years I've never seen this.
I wonder if it's not worse than Katrina.
Don't you think so, Danny
?
he asks his friend.
Dany also lost two boats worth two million dollars each.
In Fort Myers Ian blew so hard that boats crashed into buildings several hundred yards from where they came from.
"
It's crazy
," said Gage, a 22-year-old waiter, looking at the towering 20-meter yacht that the hurricane dumped right in front of his balcony: "
The water started to rise and when I got out of my bed the boat was outside my window right here
!
He was right there
!
»
In this state, "
we are just beginning to see the extent of the destruction
", "
likely to rank among the worst
" in the history of the United States, said Joe Biden during a speech.
“
It will take months, years to rebuild
,” he lamented.
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