Washington: Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday as a Category 4 major hurricane. The landfall occurred near Cayo Costa, an island in Lee County, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 240 kmph, reported Xinhua news agency. Ian was causing “devastating” hurricanes, winds and flooding across the Florida peninsula, an earlier NHC update read. About 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate to southwest Florida before the storm made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph).
Forecasters said severe storm surges of 12 to 18 feet (about 3.66 to 5.49 meters) above ground level were expected between Englewood and Bonita Beach, including Charlotte Harbor.
Weakening is expected after landfall, but Ian could be close to hurricane strength when it moves along the east coast of Florida on Thursday, and when it reaches northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 814,000 customers in Florida are without power due to the storm, according to Power Outages. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Wednesday morning that Ian is expected to be a “historic” hurricane with “profound impact” on the state.
Also read: Hurricane Ian reaches Florida after crashing Cuba; high alert declared
A fleet of highwater vehicles, 42,000 linemen, 7,000 members of the National Guard and 179 aircraft were mobilized in response to the impact of the storm, DeSantis tweeted.
US President Joe Biden told the White House on Wednesday that the federal government was “on alert and in action” as the storm was closing in on Florida. “This hurricane is incredibly dangerous, to state the obvious. It’s life-threatening,” Biden warned.
“You must follow all warnings and instructions from emergency officials,” he continued. “Don’t take anything lightly. Use their judgment, not yours. Empty when ordered. Be prepared.”
The US Coast Guard is searching for 23 migrants whose ship sank off the coast of Florida amid Hurricane Ian, an official said Wednesday afternoon.
US Border Patrol’s Miami Sector Chief Patrol Agent Walter Schlosser tweeted that agents had responded to a migrant landing in Stock Island, Monroe County, Florida. Slossar said that four “Cuban migrants swam ashore after their ship sank due to bad weather” and that a search and rescue operation was underway for 23 persons, who are believed to be in the same boat. Were.
(with agency input)