Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida

Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida on Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. 

“NOAA Doppler radar imagery indicates that the eye of Ian has made landfall on the mainland southwest Florida peninsula just south of Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor,” the NHC said in an update at 4:35 p.m. local time (2035 UTC/GMT). “Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated to be 145 mph (235 km/h).” 

Punta Gorda is to the south of the larger city of Tampa on Florida’s western coastline, with the hurricane moving north-northeast towards Tampa and eventually Orlando.

Hurricane Ian had already brought a devastating storm surge over Florida. The storm’s strength is just shy of Category 5, the most dangerous status.

According to the NHC, Ian had grown to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane overnight, with top winds of 155 mph. 

Dozens of shelters were set up after authorities had issued mandatory evacuation orders for 2.5 million people across Florida. 

However, by Wednesday, it was already too late to flee as conditions were rapidly deteriorating. Electricity had been severed for more than 1 million homes out of just over 11 million tracked customers in the state of Florida, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.

All commercial flights stopped operating in Tampa and Orlando’s airports. 

Migrant boat sinks

Shortly before Ian made landfall, a boat carrying migrants sank, leaving 23 people missing and four survivors.

Walter Slosar, Miami’s chief patrol agent, said US authorities responded to a “migrant landing in Stock Island, Florida.”

“Four Cuban migrants swam to shore after their vessel sank due to inclement weather,” Slosar wrote on Twitter. 

Worse is yet to come

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said this was all a “drop in the bucket” compared to what was expected over the next 48 hours. 

“This is going to be a nasty nasty day, two days,” DeSantis said, urging residents in the storm’s path to seek shelter. 

Warning of a looming trail of destruction, National Weather Service director Ken Graham said Ian would be “a storm we talk about for many years to come… It’s a historic event.”

DeSantis said thousands of personnel were assigned to respond to the storm with 250 aircraft, 300 boats and 1,600 high-water vehicles. 

Hurricane Ian had battered Cuba as a Category 3 storm just less than 24 hours before nearing Florida. 

Scientists have long sounded the alarm over how climate change can hike the intensity of extreme weather events. 

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  Deserted streets

  The streets of the Cuban city of Pinar del Rio are empty. The storm made landfall in western Cuba as a category 3 hurricane at about 5 a.m. Tuesday (local time). It caused great destruction. Torn off corrugated iron roofs were swept into power lines.

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  Electrical services interrupted

  Electrical transformers litter this street in Pinar del Rio. People passing by survey the extent of the destruction. The hurricane caused flooding throughout the island, buildings and infrastructure facilities were severely damaged, and trees were uprooted. No deaths or injuries have been reported so far.

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  Through the storm

  This passerby used a plastic tarp as protection from the driving rains. In the province of Pinar del Rio alone, 40,000 people had to leave their homes as a precaution. Nearby Artemisa and Havana also reported severe damage. The full extent is not yet clear.

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  Flooded land

  Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has visited the worst-hit region, according to state media. In view of the general shortage of many types of food and other basic necessities, Cubans were left with little more than makeshift preparations.

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  Blackout across Cuba

  Hurricane Ian caused blackouts across the country. Cuba’s power grid is considered dilapidated, and the infrastructure is outdated. Communication with people affected by the blackout was limited; according to reports on state television, internet access and telephone connections also didn’t work in some places.

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  Taking stock

  A Cuban family assesses what Ian left of their house after the hurricane tore off the roof. According to the Cuban Meteorological Office, Ian was the 12th recorded category 3 hurricane to hit Cuba this season. Climate change does not necessarily cause tropical cyclones to occur more frequently, but it does cause stronger ones, experts warn.

• Blackout in Cuba after category 3 Ian hits

  The aftermath

  The skies over Havana are slowly clearing. With wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour), Hurricane Ian is now headed to Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis and US President Joe Biden have declared a state and federal emergency, and 2.5 million people have already had to leave their homes and apartments on the orders of the authorities.

  Author: Claudia Dehn

fb, msh/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters) 

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/hurricane-ian-makes-landfall-in-florida/a-63272636?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf