Ian makes landfall again, this time in South Carolina
CHARLESTON, South Carolina, (AP) — Hurricane Ian made another landfall Friday, this time in South Carolina, after carving a swath of destruction across Florida earlier this week.
The US National Hurricane Center says Ian’s center came ashore Friday afternoon near Georgetown with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph).
Ian hit Florida’s Gulf Coast as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph (240 kph) winds Wednesday, flooding homes and leaving nearly 2.7 million people without power.
Before landfall, Sheets of rain whipped trees and power lines and left many areas on Charleston’s downtown peninsula under water by midday.
A popular pier in the beach community of Pawleys Island collapsed and floated away. In Myrtle Beach, waves were pushing against the city’s boardwalk tourist area, flowing over where thousands of tourists typically fill the wide sandy stretch.
Ian left a broad swath of destruction after it came ashore on Florida’s Gulf Coast as one of the strongest storms ever to hit the US The storm flooded areas on both of Florida’s coasts, tore homes from their slabs, demolished beachfront businesses and left more than 2 million people without power.
At least nine people were confirmed dead in the US— a number that was almost certain to increase as officials confirm more deaths and search for people.
Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through riverine streets Thursday to save thousands of people trapped amid flooded homes and buildings shattered by Hurricane Ian.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that rescue crews had gone door-to-door to over 3,000 homes in the hardest-hit areas.
“There’s really been a Herculean effort,” he said during a news conference in Tallahassee.
Climate change added at least 10 per cent more rain to Hurricane Ian, according to a study prepared immediately after the storm, said its co-author, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab climate scientist Michael Wehner.
Among those killed were an 80-year-old woman and a 94-year-old man who relied on oxygen machines that stopped working amid power outages, as well as a a 67-year-old man who was waiting to be rescued died after falling into rising water inside his home, authorities said.
Officials fear the death toll could rise substantially, given the wide territory swamped by the storm.
