Hurricane Ian caused “historic” damage after making landfall in Florida, leaving more than 2.5 million without power.
In a briefing Thursday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that was done has been historic, and this is just off initial assessments.”
“We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude, and it hit an area where there’s a lot of people and a lot of those low-lying areas, and it’s going to end up doing extensive damage to a lot of people’s homes. So there’s going to be a lot of work to do,” DeSantis added, calling it “basically a 500-year flood event.”
“You’re looking at a storm that has changed the character of a significant part of our state,” he said. “This is going to require years of effort to rebuild."
Sanibel Causeway and Matlacha Pass Bridge, which connect barrier islands near Fort Myers to the mainland, were declared “impassable” by DeSantis, who said they would require structural rebuilds. Images from Fort Myers Beach showed much of the nearby community leveled by the Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.
The White House said Thursday morning that President Biden had been in communication with DeSantis about Federal Emergency Management Agency aid for hurricane victims, including approving a formal disaster declaration for the nine counties hit hardest. There was no official death count, with the governor saying there were two deaths possibly tied to the hurricane that had yet to be confirmed.
Downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday, Ian is expected to make landfall in South Carolina on Friday as a hurricane. The governors of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia have declared states of emergency.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's recent trip to Nigeria has reportedly left King Charles 'angrier than anyone has ever seen him' as the Royal Family are said to be 'worried'
Meghan Markle knows the one major move she could easily make that would "sell millions" and make her a ton of cash - but King Charles is "filled with horror" at the idea, according to a Royal expert
Meghan Markle reportedly 'strode' ahead of a seemingly 'slumped' Prince Harry as the pair were pictured returning to Los Angeles after their 'excruciating' 18-hour travel day
TV fans were sent into meltdown when Rylan's mum accidentally blurted out his real name during an episode of Gogglebox as the pair had a back and fourth over iced fingers
A woman has shared a picture of her firework tattoo on Reddit. However, she's been left freaking out after people told her it looks like something rude as she asked people their advice
Cousins Zara Tindall and Prince William have been close since childhood, and the future King has always been incredibly supportive of her sporting achievements
Satellite images exclusively obtained by CNN show three destroyed Russian jets and damaged buildings at Belbek airbase in occupied port city of Sevastopol on Wednesday.