This Thursday, September 29, people walk through a neighborhood in Fort Myers, Florida, that was inundated by Hurricane Ian Eva Marie Uzcategui (Bloomberg)
As Florida surveys the damage and rescues victims, Hurricane Ian moves across the Atlantic. It’s heading for the coast of South Carolina, where the eye of the hurricane will hit at 2 p.m. local time this Friday, according to forecasts by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The cyclone is coming with less force than in Florida, but has already proven its devastating power.
“On the predicted route, Ian will be approaching the South Carolina coast on Friday. The eye will be moving inland from the Carolinas on Friday night and Saturday,” the NHC said Thursday night. Maximum sustained winds are around 75 miles per hour, about 120 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts.
The panel that oversees tropical cyclone formation and advance warns Ian could slightly strengthen before making landfall this Friday. Even so, the speed of his winds upon landing will be a far cry from the 150 mph he reached near Fort Myers on Florida’s southwest coast this Tuesday. Once it moves into South Carolina, it’s expected to weaken rapidly over the southeastern United States Friday through Saturday as the storm traverses North Carolina and reaches Virginia.
Of course, it’s not just the eye of the hurricane that counts. According to data late Thursday, hurricane-force winds extend up to 75 kilometers outward from the center and tropical storm-force winds extend up to 665 kilometers outward.
An aerial photo shows destroyed homes and debris in Fort Myers after the hurricane. Wilfredo Lee (AP)
The combination of storm surge and high tide will typically inundate dry areas around the coast, the CNH warns. The rain will also wreak havoc. Significant flooding in cities and rivers is expected through Friday in stretches of coastline in northeast Florida, southeast Georgia and eastern South Carolina. Areas of southern Appalachia where mudslides are also a possibility are at risk of significant fall, city and creek flooding this weekend. There is also a risk of tornadoes.
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apocalyptic images
South Carolina is repeating patterns of hurricane preparation previously observed in Florida. Planks, sandbags, lines to buy water and basic necessities, and evictions from coastal areas are attempting to cushion the impact of the hurricane.
The two Carolinas and Virginia have declared states of emergency in anticipation of Ian’s arrival. Residents prepare for the impact following the apocalyptic images they left in Florida. The city of Fort Myers, with a population of around 83,500, and its environs were hardest hit by the hurricane. Numerous boats have entered the city with the swell, as if there had been a tsunami. Both Fort Myers and Naples, Cape Coral and the adjacent islands have seen the water cover all of their streets. In some areas, what calls for destruction is a theater of war.
Lack of power and water, collapsed bridges, flooding, impassable roads and highways, debris and damage to buildings and infrastructure have left much of Florida in a catastrophic situation. Beaches that were once a tourist haven now look like piles of rubble.
Emergency teams have rescued about 700 people trapped by the floods, but there is great uncertainty about the possible deaths. The lack of confirmation of specific cases contrasts with the words of United States President Joe Biden: “The numbers are not yet clear, but we are hearing information that there could be significant deaths,” he said, later adding that ” this could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” which would mean reaching several dozen deaths. The sheriff of Lee, the county in which Fort Myers is located, spoke of “hundreds” of deaths early that morning and later said in another interview that those he hired were “about five,” a number that has not yet been confirmed was through other sources.
From 25,000 to 40,000 million
The evacuations ordered for 2.5 million people, pre-storm shelter preparations and repeated warnings from authorities have undoubtedly saved many lives.
Calculating the material damage is complicated, but rating agency Fitch estimates insurers alone could face $25,000-40,000 million in damages, according to a preliminary report released Thursday. The number could rise with damage in the Carolinas. That compares to the $65,000 million they suffered in 2005 for Katrina, the deadliest and most destructive of the hurricanes to hit the United States in recent history, and the $36,000 million in compensation for Ida in 2021. according to the agency. To these numbers, of course, add all the uninsured property and the cost of debris removal and cleaning.
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