Hurricane Ian Timelapse Video Shows Storm Surge Completely Flood Fort Myers

By

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page
US News Reporter
Trust Project Icon Newsweek Is A Trust Project Member

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

A web camera pointed to the streets of Fort Myers, in coastal Florida, captured the way the city's roads were submerged under several feet of water on Wednesday night, as Hurricane Ian moved across the state as a Category 4 storm.

In the timelapse video, which can be seen here, waters start flooding into one road before eventually taking over the entire neighborhood. The area of Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, was one of the most affected by the storm in Florida, with over 420,000 people still without power on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Across the entire state over 2 million people are still affected by blackouts, according to the website.

Fort Myers was among the residential areas most affected by the high winds, rain and storm surges caused by the storm, where buildings and properties were damaged, power lines cut and trees brought down.

According to city authorities, parts of the city were under three to four feet of water. The City of Fort Myers called for a city-wide curfew in place from 6 p.m. on Wednesday for the next 48 hours.

On Wednesday evening, Lee County's government warned residents to stay inside their homes, as it was "no longer safe to be on the roads."

The Tampa Bay Area branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) recommended that those taking shelter inside keep away from windows and "put as many walls between you and the outside as you can."

Videos shared on social media from Fort Myers show catastrophic scenes of flooding and destruction, as residents expressed their concern and grief over the damage this will cause to the community.

Several people, including a 91-year-old man, reportedly found themselves trapped in their homes and vehicles in Fort Myers and other areas across Florida, including Cape Coral.

No deaths linked to the storm have so far been reported. The total damage caused by the storm is still unknown, as emergency efforts overnight were hindered by the weather conditions.

Hurricane Ian, the first hurricane to hit the country this year, is now being described as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S. It's the first hurricane to hit Florida since the record-breaking Michael storm hit the state's Panhandle in October 2018.

Though Hurricane Ian has weakened to a Category 1 storm, the National Hurricane Center has warned against life-threatening flooding and storm surges still on Thursday and Friday along the coasts of northeastern Florida, as well as Georgia and South Carolina.

Florida Hurricane Ian
Wind gusts blow across the John Ringling Causeway as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on September 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. The storm made a U.S. landfall at Cayo Costa, Florida this afternoon as... Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Request Reprint & Licensing Submit Correction View Editorial & AI Guidelines

Top stories

About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more