356

Photos: The aftermath of Hurricane Ian's destruction

Christopher Wilson and Yahoo News Photo Staff
·3 min read

Hurricane Ian continued to hammer the southeastern United States, making landfall in South Carolina two days after devastating parts of Florida.

Florida officials reported 1 confirmed death and 20 unconfirmed deaths due to the storm, which caused severe damage to Fort Myers and other areas in the southwest of the state. More than 1.8 million residents remained without power. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the death toll on the barrier islands that were particularly hard hit was still being assessed.

Palm trees are flattened in the wind on flooded streets under feet of water on a plaza surrounded by apartment buildings.
Flooded streets in Naples, Fla., on Sept. 28, under the onslaught of Hurricane Ian. (City of Naples Government/Zuma Press Wire Service)

“If a house just washes away into the ocean, into the water, with 155 mile-per-hour winds, if that person evacuated, that’s great,” DeSantis said. “If they didn’t, I don’t know how you survive that.”

The White House has pledged federal aid to assist with the rebuild and cleanup in Florida.

“This is not just a crisis for Florida, this is an American crisis,” President Biden said in remarks Friday afternoon, adding, “I just want the people of Florida to know, we see what you’re going through, and we’re with you.” Biden is expected to visit Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from Hurricane Fiona, on Monday.

A NOAA handout image shows a powerful weather system with its epicenter off the coast of South Carolina.
In an NOAA handout image taken by the GOES satellite, Hurricane Ian approaches the Atlantic coast of northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas on Friday. (NOAA via Getty Images)

While both South Carolina and Georgia have declared a states of emergency, no evacuation orders were issued. Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina acknowledged that the storm had lessened in power but urged residents to remain vigilant.

"This is not as bad as it could’ve been,” McMaster said at a briefing Friday. “A lot of prayers have been answered, but I would ask people don’t quit yet, because it’s still coming. We are not out of the woods yet.”

An aerial shot of a highway causeway with palm trees battered by the wind.
A gale-force wind blows across Sarasota Bay in Florida during Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
A boy runs across a beach from massive walls of spray.
Children play in the waves at the Malecón in Havana, Cuba, on Thursday, after the passage of Hurricane Ian. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
A neighborhood of flooded ranch houses stretching to the horizon.
An aerial picture taken Thursday shows a flooded neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images)
A man stands in front of a boat that juts at right angles across a road.
A boat washed onto a road after Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers on Thursday. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images)
Devastation in a marina, with boats piled on top of each other after being torn from their moorings.
An aerial view of the wreckage in Fort Myers Beach on Thursday after Hurricane Ian. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Robert Ray takes photos of a chaotic pileup of damaged vessels.
Fox weather correspondent Robert Ray takes photos of boats damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers on Thursday. (Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman reaches for a kitchen implement as she cooks on a paraffin burner in the dark.
A woman cooks in her home without electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Havana on Thursday. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Embers burn in the ruins of homes reduced to ashes, with a roof canopy still standing on one house.
In this aerial view, homes burn after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on Thursday in Sanibel, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In an aerial view, floodwaters cover a large portion of a street.
Cars sit in floodwater near downtown Orlando, Fla., after Hurricane Ian on Thursday. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
Two lines of traffic prepare to drive through several inches of floodwater.
Cars begin to drive through receding floodwaters in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., on Friday after Hurricane Ian. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Helmeted members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team stride through inches of water toward some houses.
Members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team look for anyone needing help after Hurricane Ian on Friday in Fort Myers. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
An aerial view of a line of vehicles leaving a wake as they drive through several inches of water on a flooded roadway.
Vehicles drive through standing water Friday in Port Charlotte, Fla. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Jordan Reidy, in baseball cap, carries a white dog in his arms through floodwaters.
Jordan Reidy carries his dog, Ivory, back to their second-floor apartment in Fort Myers on Friday after fleeing from Hurricane Ian. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
With floodwater covering the first steps up to a house, only a small section of an American flag on a pole is visible above the water.
An American flag lies partially submerged in the flooded front yard of a house in New Smyrna Beach on Friday after Hurricane Ian. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Recommended Stories