Hurricane Ian in Florida: “Total devastation” in coastal towns

Meter-high storm surges hamper rescue efforts on the Florida coast after Hurricane “Ian”. Thousands of people have lost their homes. A further rise in river levels is feared.

Off-road vehicles whose roofs can just about be seen. Houses that are partially up to the third story in water, countless downed trees and garbage float through the meter-high waters in Florida’s southwestern coastal towns. The full extent of the damage caused by Hurricane “Ian” there cannot yet be estimated.

Rescue workers in the affected areas are trying to fight their way through the water and masses of rubble to save people trapped by the water.

So far, progress has been slow, said Charlotte County rescue coordinator Patrick Fuller in an interview with CNN. The helpers on the ground would first have to clear the streets and find safe ways to reach the people who need help in the first place.

Several neighborhoods in Fort Myers resemble lake districts.

Image: AFP

During the night, the US Coast Guard was repeatedly deployed with helicopters to rescue people who had stayed at home and were trapped by the storm surges.

13 people were rescued from the coastal towns of Fort Myers and St. Petersburg. A Florida National Guard helicopter is also still on duty in Fort Myers to get people off their rooftops, Coast Guard Admiral Brendan McPherson said on CNN.

Fort Myers among the hardest hit

Fort Myers, where “Ian” raged with winds up to 150 mph, is among the hardest hit in the state, McPherson said. However, it is still too early for figures on possible fatalities. Sheriff Chad Chronister succinctly described the situation in Fort Myers as “catastrophic casualties and total devastation.”

In Naples, just under an hour away, the fire station was flooded by fire chief Pete DiMaria and his team within a few hours. The rescue vehicles were almost up to the roof in the water. All of Naples was flooded, he told CNN.

Chad Eggleston witnessed the hurricane and subsequent storm surge at his home in Naples. At some point one is powerless and no longer knows how serious and big the matter could be, Eggleston reported on CNN the morning after the storm.

Level increase of up to eight meters feared

Estimates by US authorities assume that around two million people in Florida are without power due to the damage caused by the storm and the floods. The electricity providers said it would probably take weeks to rebuild the infrastructure. The number of those who have lost their homes will probably number in the thousands.

And the worst was not yet over, explained Chronister. When the storm subsides and the water that has been pushed inland from the coast comes back and meets the masses of rain there, the levels would continue to rise – in some cases up to eight meters according to forecasts.

Ian is currently located near Cape Canaveral on the east side of Florida. It was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. But the National Hurricane Center also expects life-threatening storm surges on the east coast.