Hurricane Ian batters Florida, leaves 10 dead

Not less than 10 people have died after Hurricane Ian tore through Florida leaving behind a swathe of destruction.

The 10 confirmed deaths occurred in southwest Charlotte County where the wind was intense.

U.S President Joe Biden has warned that the category one storm could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history so far, with a substantial loss of life.

The National Hurricane Center reveals that Ian is now moving inland and taking aim at North and South Carolina.

A blackout has also occurred, which has affected about 2.2 million homes and businesses in Florida.

Officials said severe flood waters have trapped many people in their homes with the National Guard going door to door in the city of Orlando to rescue those stranded.

The state’s Governor Ron DeSantis disclosed said the damage in Fort Myers, a harbourside city, was almost indescribable.

Also Read: Florida issues evacuation orders as hurricane Ian threatens 

“To see a house just sitting in the middle of Estero Bay literally must have gotten picked up, flown because of the massive wind speed and the storm surge, and deposited in a body of water,” he said.

Also at the governor’s briefing, Kevin Guthrie, director at the Florida Division of Emergency Management warned about “indirect deaths”, the fatalities that can happen after a storm system has passed.

He warned homeowners to be on the lookout for power lines mixed in trees and said no one should be tinkering with generator sand chainsaws, or climbing ladders without proper training.

“People need to be extremely careful.” Mr. Guthrie added.

Hurricane Ian has earlier hit Cuba, causing a total blackout in the country on Tuesday.

Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, the massive clean-up effort continues after the hurricane hit the Caribbean island last week.

Samuel Omowumi Racheal