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Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife. A family is being rescued in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
04 Oct 2022

Hurricane Ian killed at least 50 in Florida, South Carolina, Cuba and Puerto Rico

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Hurricane Ian has left great devastation after it struck Florida last week. The death toll from the storm continues to rise.

 

Photos by Florida Fish and Wildlife / Flickr. Cover photo above: A family is being rescued from a flooded area in Florida. 

Widespread power outages, flight cancellations and flooding have affected Cuba, Florida and South Carolina after Hurricane Ian struck.

Only days before, Hurricane Fiona struck the east coast of North America reaching all the way up to Canada´s eastern provinces, which is extremely unusual for a tropical storm. Normally, storms will weaken much much more as the travel north. 

Hurricane Ian has (by October 3rd) claimed at least 54 lives, and 47 of these lives lost were in Florida, according to Associated Press.

Last Wednesday, Hurricane Ian struck Cuba where 11 million people were left without electrical power and three people died. Then it moved on to Florida, where at one point 2,5 million people were being asked to prepare for evacuation.

On Friday morning Hurricane Ian struck South Carolina where 8 people were killed, millions were left without power and a marine pier was ripped apart by rising water levels. 

 

Wind and rain created widespread destruction

Throughout the affected areas, there is widespread material damage with destroyed homes, highways being washed away and trees uprooted. The damage was caused by strong winds reaching 240 kmph / 149 mph and from extreme rainfall amounting to 20 centimeters / 7,8 inches of rain in some of the worst affected areas.  

Florida continues to carry out rescue efforts, and more than 1,000 people had been rescued from flooded areas as per October 2,  according to Daniel Hokanson, head of the National Guard.

Next week, US President Joe Biden will travel to Puerto Rico and Florida to visit the affected areas.

According to multiple news reports, heavy rains has led to water levels in many areas reaching above roof tops and thousands of people have been temporarily trapped. 

 

Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife

 

Before Hurricane Ian struck Florida, Hurricane Fiona already hit Puerto Rico, left two dead in the Dominican Republic - and finally headed up the coast to Eastern Canada. 

Homes have been destroyed, entire buildings swept away, roads are washed out and one women is reported having been swept out to sea in Newfoundland.  

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power, after Storm Fiona hit Canada's coastline on Friday and Saturday, reports the CBC. 

Fiona was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Friday. Still, three provinces experienced heavy rain and winds of up to 160km/h (99mph). 

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality and neighbouring Victoria County  declared a local state of emergency and are asking residents to stay at home, unless where they are staying isn't safe.

Most of the province of  Prince Edward Island was without power on Saturday. Near the coastline of the most exposed areas, homes have been demolished and swept out to sea. 

The highest rainfall totals were in Osborne Head near Eastern Passage, where 192 millimetres fell.

Thousands of people huddled in shelters Friday and Saturday as the storm passed. 

Communities in southwestern Newfoundland have been hit by significant damage, including lost homes, flooding and road washouts. 

Before Fiona was downgraded to a tropical storm, experts called the event "historical', meaning it was expected to be possibly the largest hurricane to ever hit Canada. Evaluations of the severity of the damages are ongoing.  

It is considered unusual for tropical storms to retains such strength when they reach as far north as the Canadian East Coast, as they normally weaken with distance.  

 

Typhoon Nanmadol hit Japan

Last week CTIF.org wrote about Typhoon Nanmadol, which was allegedly the largest storm to have hit Japan ever. As many as 9 million people were at one point told to prepare to evacuate. 

By Tuesday, Typhoon Nanmadol was downgraded to a cyclone and many of the evacuation orders were recalled. According to the BBC, four people have died and at least 114 were injured.