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Associated Press

Hurricane Ian plunged much of coastal southwest Florida into darkness on Wednesday, as the monster storm brought “catastrophic” storm surges, winds and flooding that had officials readying a huge emergency response.
The US Border Patrol said 20 migrants were missing after their boat sank, with four Cubans swimming to shore in the Florida Keys islands and three rescued at sea by the coast guard.
The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the eye of the “extremely dangerous” hurricane made landfall just after 3pm on the barrier island of Cayo Costa, west of the city of Fort Myers.
Dramatic television footage from the coastal city of Naples showed floodwaters surging into beachfront homes, submerging roads and sweeping away vehicles.
Some neighbourhoods in Fort Myers, which has a population of more than 80,000, resembled lakes.
The NHC said Ian was packing maximum sustained winds of 240km/h (150mph) when it landed.
Hurricane Ian forces Nasa’s moon rocket back into storage
It later weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with winds dropping to a maximum 120km/h, battering Florida with storm surges, damaging winds and “life-threatening catastrophic” flooding, the NHC said about 2am local time Thursday.
More than two million customers were without electricity in Florida on Wednesday evening, out of a total of more than 11 million, with southwestern areas of the state the hardest hit, according to the PowerOutage.us tracking website.
Ian is set to affect several million people across Florida and in the southeastern states of Georgia and South Carolina.
As hurricane conditions spread, forecasters warned of a once-in-a-generation calamity.
“This is going to be a storm we talk about for many years to come,” said National Weather Service director Ken Graham. “It’s a historic event.”
Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis said the state was going to experience a “nasty, nasty day, two days”.

The town of Punta Gorda, north of Fort Myers, was in near-total darkness as the storm wiped out power, save for the lucky few buildings with generators.
Howling winds ripped branches off trees and pulled chunks out of the roofs.
Some 2.5 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders in a dozen coastal Florida counties, with several dozen shelters set up, and voluntary evacuation recommended in others.
For those who decided to ride out the storm, authorities stressed it was too late to flee and residents should hunker down and stay indoors.
Cuba without power as Hurricane Ian takes aim at Florida
Airports in Tampa and Orlando stopped all commercial flights, and cruise ship companies delayed departures or canceled voyages.
With up to 76cm (30 inches) of rain expected to fall on parts of the so-called Sunshine State, and a storm surge that could reach devastating levels of 3.6 to 5.5 metres, authorities were warning of dire emergency conditions.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” the NHC warned.
The storm was set to move across central Florida before emerging in the Atlantic Ocean by late Thursday.
Ian had plunged all of Cuba into darkness after battering the country’s west as a Category 3 storm and downing the island’s power network.

“Desolation and destruction. These are terrifying hours. Nothing is left here,” a 70-year-old resident of the western city of Pinar del Rio was quoted as saying in a social media post by his journalist son, Lazaro Manuel Alonso.
At least two people died in Pinar del Rio province, Cuban state media reported.
In the United States, the Pentagon said 3,200 national guard personnel were called up in Florida, with another 1,800 on the way.
DeSantis said state and federal responders were assigning thousands of personnel to address the storm response.
“There will be thousands of Floridians who will need help rebuilding,” he said.
As climate change warms the ocean’s surface, the number of powerful tropical storms, or cyclones, with stronger winds and more precipitation is likely to increase.
The total number of cyclones, however, may not.
According to Gary Lackmann, a professor of atmospheric science at North Carolina State University, studies have also detected a potential link between climate change and rapid intensification - when a relatively weak tropical storm surges to a Category 3 hurricane or higher in a 24-hour period, as happened with Ian.
“There remains a consensus that there will be fewer storms, but that the strongest will get stronger,” Lackmann said.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Extreme weather

Hurricane Ian pounds Florida, leaving millions without power

Damage caused by Hurricane Ian as it swept through Florida. Photo: dpa

A truck pulls a man on a kayak after flooding caused by Hurricane Ian in Key West, Florida, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Cuba entirely without power as Hurricane Ian takes aim at Florida

Hurricane Ian over the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: AP

Fallen utility poles and fallen branches in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Photo: AP

People gather at Key West pier as Hurricane Ian approaches, in Key West, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Nearly the entire state of Florida could see storm surges from Hurricane Ian. Photo: National Hurricane Centre

Canada counts damage after Hurricane Fiona as Cuba and Florida brace for storm Ian

A damaged house in Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland, Canada. Photo: Reuters

The aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Rose Blanche, Newfoundland, Canada. Photo: Reuters

Submerged structures on the Burnt Islands, in the Newfoundland and Labrador Province of Canada. Photo: Michael King via AFP

Nasa scraps Tuesday’s scheduled Artemis 1 Moon launch as Storm Ian gathers strength

Nasa’s next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion crew capsule perched on top, at Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. Photo: Reuters

The Nasa moon rocket stands on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on September 2. Photo: AP

Satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Ian over the central Caribbean on Saturday. Photo: NOAA via AP

News

World

United States & Canada


Hurricane Ian plowed into Florida’s Gulf Coast with sustained winds of up 240km/h
Florida’s governor warned that the state was facing a ‘nasty, nasty day, two days’



A weakened but still formidable Hurricane Ian chugged across Florida with fierce winds, torrential downpours and raging surf that flooded oceanside communities.


Hurricane Ian pounds Florida, leaving millions without power

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Hurricane Ian plowed into Florida’s Gulf Coast with sustained winds of up 240km/h Florida’s governor warned that the state was facing a ‘nasty, nasty day, two days’

Hurricane Ian plowed into Florida’s Gulf Coast with sustained winds of up 240km/h

Florida’s governor warned that the state was facing a ‘nasty, nasty day, two days’