the hurricane Ian made landfall in South Carolina on Friday where it was already causing dangerous rising waters after devastating parts of Florida.
The Category 1 hurricane arrived near Georgetown, South Carolina, in the early afternoon, accompanied by winds of up to 140 km / h, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) based in Miami. . Rains and gusts had started pouring in long before he arrived, and videos of the flooded Myrtle Beach resort quickly circulated on social media.
US President Joe Biden has urged area residents to heed calls for caution from local authorities. In particular, the latter urged the population not to drive on the roads invaded by water.
“It’s a dangerous storm that will bring high winds and lots of water, but the most dangerous thing will be human error. Be smart, make good decisions, check in on your loved ones and stay safe,” stressed on Twitter South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.
The hurricane quickly began to weaken as it progressed landward, the NHC noted, and was expected to develop into a tropical storm by evening.
Heavy toll in Florida
In Florida, the human toll of the passage of Ian was still very preliminary on Friday, with authorities reporting 21 deaths, 20 of which were “unconfirmed” — meaning it had not yet been established whether they were directly caused by the hurricane. As for the material balance, it is “historic”, the level reached by the rising waters being unprecedented, according to Governor Ron DeSantis.
Streets and homes were flooded and boats moored in marinas were tossed onto land by the storm. On Friday, in Kissimmee, not far from Orlando, authorities were still crossing flooded areas in boats to rescue residents trapped in their homes.
Friday afternoon, about 1.8 million homes remained without electricity, according to the PowerOutage site.
In Florida, “we are just beginning to see the extent of the destruction,” President Biden said in a speech. “She is likely to rank among the worst […] of the nation’s history. »
“You’ve all seen it on TV, homes and property destroyed. It will take months, years to rebuild. And our hearts go out to all those people whose lives have been absolutely devastated by the storm,” Biden said. “We will do everything we can for you,” he said to the Floridians.
Still, offering residents a semblance of normality between broken trees and shattered facades, a handful of restaurants and bars had reopened in downtown Fort Myers. “It was pretty terrible, but we held on. The roof of our house was blown off, a big tree collapsed on our cars, our garden was flooded, but other than that, it’s fine,” said Dylan Gamber, 23, welcoming the solidarity that has ruled among neighbours.
At the same time, the search continued to find 17 passengers of a migrant boat which capsized on Wednesday near the archipelago of the Keys.
The cost of Ian
According to initial estimates, the passage of the hurricane Ian could cost insurers up to $47 billion and could also weigh on US economic growth, due in particular to power cuts, flight cancellations and damage to agricultural production.
Joe Biden has said he wants to go to Florida as soon as possible, but also to the American territory of Puerto Rico, recently devastated by the hurricane. Fiona.
According to a first rapid study by American scientists made public on Friday, the rains linked to the hurricane Ian have been increased by at least 10% due to climate change. “Climate change didn’t cause the hurricane, but it made it wetter,” said Michael Wehner of the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, one of the scientists involved in the hurricane. this study.
Before Florida, Ian struck Cuba, killing three people and leaving much of the island without power.