Search-and-rescue workers combed Fort Myers Beach, Fla., last week after Hurricane Ian’s destructive landfall. (Photo: Jason Andrew for The New York Times)
Hurricane Ian is the most devastating hurricane that has struck Florida since 1935, causing over $40 billion dollars in damages and killing over 100 people since it made landfall.
When Ian first made landfall in Fort Myers on the 28th of September, it was a 150 mph category 4 hurricane. Long before Hurricane Ian made landfall in the United States, it was being closely monitored. It began as a tropical disturbance east of the Caribbean, and was named after reaching tropical storm status north of the so-called ABC islands near South America. As it turned north, it directed towards the western tip of Cuba, where it made its first landfall on Sept. 27. Ian's upheaval grew as it flew out of Cuba, across the Gulf of Mexico, and toward Florida. The storm made its second landfall on Cayo Costa island, off the coast of Southwest Florida, on September 28. Ian made its third landfall about 90 minutes later near Punta Gorda, Florida. Ian deteriorated as it moved across the Florida Peninsula, leaving the state on September 29. However, as it moved toward the southeastern United States, it regained hurricane strength in the Atlantic. Hurricane Ian made its final landfall on September 30 near Georgetown, South Carolina.
The death toll is currently upwards of 120 people as of Friday, October 7th. Most of the fatalities were reported in Lee County, Florida, whilst 5 deaths were reported in South Carolina, and one in Virginia. According to the UN, 3 people died in Cuba as Ian ran through the west tip of the island. Just under 2,500 rescues had to be made while search-and-rescue teams went house-to-house searching for survivors. According to records, at least 54 of the victims drowned. Nearly two-thirds of the dead were in Charlotte and Lee counties on Florida's southwest coast, which experienced massive storm surge and winds exceeding 150 miles per hour. Many of those who died were also elderly. So far, 61 of the 87 people who fell victim to the hurricane had been at least 60 years old. Eighteen were in their 80s, and five were in their 90s.
*People in Bacuranao, Cuba, protest on Friday, asking for the restoration of the electrical service that collapsed due to the devastation of Hurricane Ian. (Photo: Ramon Espinosa, NPR)
Ian wreaked havoc on the state of Florida's power grid. In the immediate aftermath, the number of outages in the state surpassed 2.5 million. That number has steadily decreased in the week since Hurricane Ian struck, since power crews have finally been able to reach the most devastated areas of the region. Officials with Florida Power and Light, which serves the majority of the hurricane-affected area, said they anticipate most customers outside of the hardest-hit areas to be restored by the end of October 7th. Power outages during Ian totaled at least 13 million people if the entire storm path was considered. And when Ian ripped across the western side of Cuba, it caused an island-wide blackout. Overall, hurricanes continue to be a crucial climate issue for many parts of the south and beyond.
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