Hurricane Ian lashes South Carolina

A reinvigorated Hurricane Ian battered South Carolina Friday, deluging neighbourhoods with calf-high water. The storm caused calamitous damage in Florida and trapped thousands in their homes.

Streams of rain whipped trees and power lines and left many areas under water. Four piers along the coast collapsed into the waves and were washed away. Online cameras showed seawater in Garden City at calf level.

Ian came ashore in South Carolina much weaker than when it crossed Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday as one of the fiercest storms to ever hit the United States. As it moved across South Carolina, Ian dropped from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone.

Florida has flooding on both coasts, with homes torn from their slabs, beachfront businesses demolished and more than 2 million people without power. At least nine people have been confirmed. Officials fear the death toll could rise substantially, given the wide territory swamped by the storm.

Rescue boats plowed the riverine streets Thursday saving thousands people trapped on the roofs of flooded homes and in devastated buildings.

Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said responders focus on “hasty” searches, aimed at rescue and assessments.

Desperate to locate and rescue their loved ones, social media users shared phone numbers, addresses and photos of their family members and friends online for anyone who can check up on them.

Orlando residents returned home Friday, wading through muddy water in their streets. University of Central Florida students arrived to retrieve possessions from their waterlogged units.The devastating storm surge destroyed many older homes. Taller condominium buildings were intact but with the bottom floor blown out. Trees and utility poles were strewn everywhere.

Hours after weakening to a tropical storm while crossing the Florida peninsula, Ian regained strength Thursday evening over the Atlantic and made landfall in South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometres per hour. When it hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, it was a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 240 kilometre-per-hour winds.

In North Carolina, heavy rain bands and winds crept into the state Friday afternoon. Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents to be vigilant, given that up to 20 centimetres of rain could fall in some areas, with high winds.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden said he was directing “every possible action be taken to save lives and get help to survivors.”

He said…

“It’s going to take months, years to rebuild.

“I just want the people of Florida to know, we see what you’re going through and we’re with you.”

SOURCE Los Angeles Daily News