Hurricane Ian crosses Florida, cities are inundated and without power

• Millions of people in Florida are without power due to one of the most catastrophic storms to hit the US in recent memory, and floodwaters are flowing inland.
• From a category four hurricane to a category one storm, Ian has finally been downgraded.
• A curfew has been imposed as a result and will last “until further notice”.

 Millions of people in Florida are without power due to one of the most catastrophic storms to hit the US in recent memory, and floodwaters are flowing inland.

On Wednesday at 15:10 local time (20:10 GMT), Hurricane Ian made landfall, crashing into the coast with winds of 241km/h (150mph).

Dramatic sights included a hospital roof being blown off, automobiles being flooded, and trees being uprooted.

From a category four hurricane to a category one storm, Ian has finally been downgraded.

Florida residents have been advised that the next 24 hours will be the most hazardous, and the mayor of Tampa has encouraged residents to remain indoors through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

During a briefing on Wednesday night, Jane Castor stated that “we are going to get the majority of the rain and the heavier winds starting about 20:00 and they are going to linger throughout the night.”

Police were unable to respond to claims of looting at a gas station in Lee County, the southwestern region where Ian made landfall, due to storm damage.

A curfew has been imposed as a result and will last “until further notice”.

The community of Fort Myers “has been – to some extent – destroyed,” according to Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais. Some of the 80,000-person city’s neighborhoods have been left to resemble lakes, according to the news agency AFP.

Ron DeSantis, the state’s governor, referred to Hurricane Ian as the “largest flood event” southwest Florida had ever seen and declared that 7,000 National Guard soldiers are prepared to spearhead rescue efforts in flood zones.

Thursday will see a briefing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for President Joe Biden.

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