Cities flooded and power cut as storm crosses Florida

A flooded street in Fort Myers, Florida

One of the most dangerous storms to hit the US in years has left 2.4 million homes and businesses in Florida without power and floodwaters surging inland.

 

Hurricane Ian made landfall at around 15:10 local time (19:10 GMT) on Wednesday, smashing into the coast with wind speeds of up to 241km/h (150mph).

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Dramatic scenes saw a hospital roof blown off, cars submerged and trees ripped out of the ground.

 

The category four hurricane was later downgraded to a tropical storm.

 

However, Floridians were warned that the most dangerous 24 hours lay ahead and the mayor of Tampa urged people to shelter in place through the night into Thursday morning.

 

“We are going to get the majority of the rain and the higher winds starting about 20:00, and they are going to last throughout the night,” Jane Castor said during a Wednesday evening briefing.

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