Destructive wind, devastated houses, catastrophic floods, power cuts by the millions: the hurricane Ian hit the west coast of Florida with full force on Wednesday evening, which was preparing for an intensification of the storm overnight.
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“You really feel that nature is unleashed and that you have to be careful. It’s a hurricane that is stronger than what we usually know, “confided Wednesday evening to the Log Dominic Therrien, a Quebec lawyer based in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Towns in West Florida looked like the end of the world as the hurricane Ian made landfall along the coast of Cayo Costa with winds up to 220 km / h, in the early afternoon, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Late Wednesday evening, there were no deaths or injuries, but firefighters had to participate in several dozen rescues for residents stuck in their homes.
apocalyptic
For hurricane specialist Zack Covey, the storm was much stronger than expected.
“Although she was rated Category 4 on the Safari-Simpson Wind Scale, she was only 2 miles per hour from Category 5. This is the highest level and we are seeing such storms about once every three years,” he told the Log.
According to Governor Ron DeSantis, it would probably be “one of the five strongest hurricanes to ever hit Florida. »
The floods could exceed 3 meters in some places, causing “catastrophic” flooding, according to the authorities.
Photo REUTERS
A flooded street in downtown Fort Myers, Florida, Wednesday night.
In Fort Myers, the water rose so fast that boats replaced cars on the roads. Houses were also washed away.
Photo taken from TWITTER
The city of Naples has tasted it.
Same thing on the side of the city of Naples where the streets looked like rivers and where the cars were carried away by the strong currents.
In some homes, the water had risen so high that their owners could swim in their living rooms.
Millions without power
For Dominic Therrien, it is clear that the next 24 hours will be difficult for residents of Florida, who were more than 2 million to have lost electricity.
Photo: AFP
Brent Shaynore was running to take refuge in Sarasota.
“We are waiting for the night with a lot of fear, because we feel that the storm is intensifying,” he dropped on the phone.
In Fort Myers, about 96 percent of residents have lost power, city mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN Wednesday night.
Over the hours, the storm could however lose its intensity, explained Zack Covey.
“As Ian moves inland, the storm gradually loses strength. For now, it is expected to be a Category 1 in the early hours of tomorrow and to become a strong tropical storm (tonight),” he said.
“It’s a storm that we will talk about for many years,” added the director of the American weather services, Ken Graham, at a press conference.
– With AFP