Hurricane Ian Strikes South Carolina as a Category 1 Storm
In Florida, the death toll now stands at 21, and damage from the storm is now estimated to be $65 billion.
Hurricane Ian continues it track up the East Coast, striking near Myrtle Beach as the storm pounded the coastline with huge waves and flooding communities.
The horror tempest touched down near Georgetown, South Carolina, and battered coastal areas – including Charleston – with 7ft storm surges.
Horrifying footage showed homes and businesses swamped by tsunami-like waves and cars floating down the streets amid the overwhelming torrent of seawater and 85mph winds.
Among the staggering damage caused, two stunning piers were ripped from their hinges and dumped in the ocean, houses were evacuated and 211,000 people suffered blackouts as the electricity grid was smashed.
Meanwhile the iconic Coburg Cow, a statue of a brown bovine called Bessie, was ominously removed from its perch in Charleston for safekeeping.
It marked only the third time it had been taken down in its 63-year history, following Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Hugo. Locals use it as a reference point for the severity of a storm.
It hit South Carolina as a Category 1 storm.
Hurricane Ian made its third landfall Friday afternoon, north of Charleston, S.C., as a Category 1 storm.
“Surface observations indicate that the center of #Hurricane #Ian made landfall on Sep 30 at 205 pm EDT (1805 UTC) near Georgetown, South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph,” the National Hurricane Center announced.
Forecasters predicted Friday morning that the hurricane would be “similar to that of a powerful nor’easter,” with most of the rain and wind concentrated to the north and west of the center of the storm.
In Florida, the death toll from Ian now stands at 21 and is expected to rise.
Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said Friday that the state confirmed one death in Polk County caused by the storm surge or rising water levels. Twenty people also died in Charlotte and Collier counties during the storm, but officials had to determine if their deaths were caused by water levels or something indirectly related to Ian.
Mr. Guthrie said he expected that number to rise as more counties were added to the death toll.
The current cost of recovery from this storm is now projected to be $65 billion.
In all, the economic damage wrought by the hurricane could reach up to $65 billion, according to a projection released on Thursday by data firm Enki Research, which studies the financial impact of storms.
The estimate put the best-case scenario for storm damage at $55 billion, Enki Research said.
The projected costs for Hurricane Ian would amount to less than half of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, which totaled $161 billion.
However, the assessment might not fully account for inflation.
It’s bad enough what happened to the folks on the west coast of Florida – but imagine trying to build your house or business back with 40-year-high Biden inflation and the astronomical cost of building materials due to the Biden supply crunch.
I pray they get thru it. 🙏
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) September 30, 2022
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Now the Democrats are saying the Governor has nothing to do with hurricane relief but stay out of the way. Big change of tune from saying DeSantis was going to kill hundreds by his incompetence.
The devastation in Florida has no parallel considering the strength of the storm. What would be a rather pedestrian hurricane becomes a behemoth because of location and time.
I heard from one of my friends living in the area that a lot of the area inland around Georgetown in South Carolina is in terrible shape.