After devastating Florida, Ian made his way to South Carolina, where it made landfall near Georgetown in the early afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane accompanied by winds of up to 90 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
It then weakened into a post-tropical storm, with winds only blowing at about 50 km/h as it crossed North Carolina, the NHC noted. Though the risk of downpours and “moderate” flooding remains in the central Appalachian Mountains and northeastern United States, Ian is expected to “disappear over south-central Virginia overnight,” the center predicted. President Joe Biden has urged residents to heed calls for caution from local authorities. In South Carolina, they asked people not to drive on the waterlogged roads.
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Unprecedented
“It’s a dangerous storm that will bring strong winds and lots of water, but the most dangerous thing will be human error. Be smart, make good decisions, look after loved ones and stay safe,” Gov. Henry McMaster tweeted. According to the Hurricane Center, Ian is expected to “continue to weaken overnight and dissipate over western North Carolina or Virginia” late Saturday.
According to the specialist website PowerOutage, 575,000 homes and businesses in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia were already without power as of Friday evening. In Florida, in addition to the high death toll, the material damage is also “historic”, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis that the extent that has been reached by the rising waters is unprecedented. Streets and homes were flooded and boats moored in marinas were thrown ashore by the storm. On Friday, authorities in Kissimmee, near Orlando, crossed the flooded areas in boats to rescue residents trapped in their homes.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP