PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Southwestern Florida was slammed by a historic Hurricane Ian Wednesday afternoon, making landfall with 150 mph winds and a record-setting storm surge.Ian came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane near Cayo Costa in Lee County just after 3 p.m.
EDT, according to the National Hurricane Center, knocking out power to over 2 million customers across Florida as of early Thursday morning and triggering dozens of water rescues in the southwestern part of the state.President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Florida and ordered his team to mobilize additional federal resources to help with recovering, including assistance for temporary housing and home repairs, the White House said.FOX WEATHER WIRE FOR SEPT.
28: HURRICANE IAN MAKES LANDFALLSo far there are no reports of injuries or deaths for the storm that tied for the fourth-strongest hurricane on record to strike Florida.Video from Joel Franco shows storm chasers and weather reporters on the street in Punta Gorda as "the full fury" of Hurricane Ian arrives.Videos and images from south Naples and Marco Island in Collier County painted a dangerous picture of how serious the storm surge would become as Ian’s eye wall came ashore, forcing 2.5 million to flee.HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER ON TVHurricane Ian's winds whipping through Naples knocked down trees and storm surge reached an all-time record hours before landfall.
Naples recorded a storm surge of 4.8 feet, breaking the previous record of 4.25 feet set during Hurricane Irma in 2017.The projected path and intensity of Tropical Storm Ian.