Editor’s note: Affected by the storm? Use the simple CNN site for low bandwidth. You can also text or WhatsApp your Ian stories to CNN +1 332-261-0775.
CNN –
Ian has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone after battering South Carolina on Friday afternoon with destructive winds and life-threatening storm surge, and after killing at least 42 people in Florida, leaving a trail of apocalyptic destruction in its wake.
The storm, which made landfall near Georgetown as a Category 1 hurricane, continues to pack winds of 70 mph as it moves inland over the Carolinas.
“It should be emphasized that just because Ian has become a post-tropical cyclone the danger is not over,” the National Hurricane Center warned. “Dangerous storm surge, flash flooding and strong winds are still forecast for this cyclone.”
Reports of property damage, power outages and water rescue calls have multiplied as officials across the state continue to issue dire warnings to residents to stay indoors.
FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES
A hurricane warning was issued from the Savannah River at the Georgia-South Carolina state line to Cape Fear, North Carolina. Considerable flooding from seawater and rain is possible, especially in parts of coastal South Carolina, where storm surges could reach up to 7 feet and 4 to 12 inches of rain, forecasters say .
And a tornado watch covering nearly five million people is in effect until 10 p.m. ET for parts of the Carolinas and Virginia, including Myrtle Beach, Wilmington, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, according to the Storm Prediction Center .
More than 200,000 power outages were reported in South Carolina, as well as more than 138,000 in North Carolina, as of 3:50 pm ET, according to PowerOutage.us. In Virginia, more than 17,000 customers have lost power, mostly on the eastern and southern sides of the state.
Also, two piers in South Carolina, Cherry Grove Pier in North Myrtle Beach and Pawley’s Island Pier in north Charleston, partially collapsed Friday due to the storm.
“It’s a pretty scary sight,” Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said of Hurricane Ian. “I see too many cars go by. And I think people don’t realize how dangerous it is to be out in these kinds of conditions. We’ve seen so many people’s cars get stuck and emergency personnel have to go out and rescue people “.
Charleston County shelters will remain open until 4 p.m. Saturday, the county said in a news release. Buses will begin taking people from the shelters to the original pick-up locations on Saturday morning.
“Many prayers have been answered,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. “This storm isn’t as bad as it could have been, but don’t let your guard down just yet. We’re not out of the woods, there’s water on the roads, there’s still strong winds, and it’s still dangerous in many parts of the state.”
Charleston International Airport was closed Friday due to high winds, the airport said. And Myrtle Beach residents are being asked to stay inside during the storm, Mayor Brenda Bethune told CNN.
Coasts along Georgia and South Carolina may experience significant disruption as powerful waves and storm surges from Ian could inundate coastal sand dunes, according to the US Geological Survey.
In addition to flooding communities behind the dunes, the storm can push sand back and deposit it inland, which could “reduce the height of protective sand dunes, alter beach profiles, and leave areas behind the dunes most vulnerable to future storms,” the agency said. .
Meanwhile, Florida is grappling with the dizzying destruction Ian wreaked across much of the peninsula on Wednesday and Thursday after slamming into the southwest coast as a Category 4 storm and plowing through central and northern areas -East.
At least 42 deaths have been reported in the state. Coastal homes were swept into the sea, buildings were wrecked across the state, and floodwaters ruined homes and businesses and trapped residents, even inland in places like the from Orlando.
Hundreds of rescues were carried out by land, air and sea, with residents trapped in homes or stranded on rooftops, and searchers made many welfare checks, particularly in the Fort Myers and Naples areas, where a wave storm flooded streets and houses.
Roger Desjarlais, manager of Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, told CNN Friday that it’s not an exaggeration to say Hurricane Ian decimated parts of the area and “there have to be a lot of fatalities.”
“It looked like someone just fell out of the sky, picked up hotels and buildings and took them away. So much so that in many places there wasn’t even debris,” Desjarlais said. “We also know there wasn’t that much people evacuated from these islands as we had expected. We know there must still be many fatalities to account for.”
President Joe Biden continued to pledge federal support for Florida to deal with the devastation caused by the storm, which he said would “probably rank among the worst … in the nation’s history.”
“We’re just beginning to see the scale of this destruction,” Biden said, adding that the largest team of search and rescue experts “in recent history” was currently deployed in the state. “It will take months, years to rebuild.”
And now, the aftermath of the storm poses new deadly dangers. Some standing water is electrified, officials warned, and as you maneuver through debris-strewn buildings and streets, many without working traffic signals, you run the risk of injury. Lack of air conditioning can lead to heat illness, and improper use of the generator can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
In North Harbor between Fort Myers and Sarasota, Rosanna Walker stayed Thursday in the flood-damaged home she rode out of the storm. Part of its plaster ceiling was hanging down.
“And all of a sudden, water was coming in through the doors — the top, the bottom, the windows here,” he told CNN’s John Berman. “Everything is in my closets; I have to empty out my closets.”
“Everything was ruined.”
Here’s what you need to know about the destruction in Florida:
• Florida deaths: At least 42 deaths suspected to be linked to Ian have been reported in Florida. That includes 16 in Lee County, 12 in Charlotte County, eight in Collier County, three in Volusia County, one in Polk County and two in unincorporated Sarasota County, officials said. The unconfirmed deaths are being processed by local medical examiners, who are deciding whether they are disaster-related, state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said.
• Power outages: Florida had more than 1.6 million power outages as of Friday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. Most of the counties with the highest percentage of residents without power are in the Southwest, including Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto and Hardee.
• Historic flooding in Florida: Record flooding was reported in central and northern Florida, including at least three rivers that reached all-time flood records. Orlando officials warned residents of dangerous flooding, which topped a foot in some areas.
• Hundreds of rescues and thousands of evacuations: There have been more than 700 rescues in Florida so far, the governor said Thursday, and thousands of evacuees have been reported. In Lee County, a hospital system had to evacuate more than 1,000 patients after its water supply was cut off, while other widespread evacuations have been reported at prisons and nursing homes. In Fort Myers, the fire chief was “pretty comfortable” Friday morning that everyone who needed help had been rescued, Mayor Kevin Anderson said.
• Much of Fort Myers Beach obliterated: A helicopter flight over Fort Myers Beach shows total devastation: empty or trashed lots where homes and businesses once stood and boats thrown into the mangroves. “You’re talking about no structure left. … You’re talking about houses that were thrown into the bay. This is a long-term, life-changing solution,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
• Coast Guard continues rescue flights off Florida Friday: Coast Guard crews rescued 95 people in Florida Thursday, including lifting people from flooded areas by helicopter, and will continue rescue flights Friday, Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson said. “We’ll find someone else who needs help,” he said.
• Coastal islands isolated from the mainland: Sanibel and Captiva islands in southwest Florida remain isolated from the mainland after several parts of a critical causeway were torn away. At least two people died in the storm in Sanibel, and the bridge may have to be completely rebuilt, local officials said. Chip Farrar, a resident of the small island of Matlacha, told CNN that 50 feet of road essential to reach the mainland bridge has been washed away and a second bridge nearby has also collapsed.
• Insured losses in Florida could be huge: Ian may have caused as much as $47 billion in insured losses in Florida, according to an estimate by property analysis firm CoreLogic, which could make it the second costliest storm of the history of the state when it was adjusted. for inflation after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.