category 4 storm this week, and we continue to follow ian as it moves into north carolina after making landfall as a hurricane there. it is now moving inland as a post-tropical cyclone, posing all sorts of problems for that part of the country. even though it s been downgraded, officials warn it still threatens the area with herb rain and flooding. in south carolina the storm flooded homes and vehicles along the shoreline, and as high winds pushed the storm surge even higher, two piers, one in pawleys island and another in north myrtle beach you see here partially collapsing. officials are now warning residents to avoid leaving their homes and to steer clear of floodwaters that could pose hidden dangers. the obvious one of the water itself, can isolate people, drown people, but it can also hide downed power lines, obstacles in the water, even contaminants in the water. the waters themselves are the most dangerous. ian slam med into southwest florida as a severe cate
southwest florida as a category 4 hurricane, making it the most powerful storm to ever hit that area of the state. the death toll now standing at 45, but that number could rise as crews reach areas cut off by flooding. people who chose to ride out the storm describe their harrowing experiences. the water was up to my balcony here. it was just you could dive off the balcony. just water everywhere, stuff floating on it. i never stay again. they say evacuate, go. right now the remnants of ian are moving along the country s northeast after the storm hit georgetown county, south carolina, as a category 1 hurricane. let s send it down to boris sanchez anchoring our coverage from fort myers, florida. boris. fred, as the sun rises on another day here in fort myers and southwest florida, the scope of the damage from hurricane ian is becoming more clear. communities are reeling as many folks are getting back to their properties and seeing what was left behind by this near categor
the winds are gusting at 85 miles per hour, and the other big concerns are life-threatening storm surge and heavy rain. we are tracking who is in the most danger. all of this as millions of people in florida are taking those first painful steps towards recovery. so many lives are upended by hurricane ian s devastation, and the storm is likely one for the record books as the grim evidence of the powerful strike now litters coastlines. today, fort myers beach impassable. shells of buildings is all that is left. boats are tossed like toys as well as homes at this point, we know that 25 people have died in florida. roughly 2 million without power, and staggering level of destruction and damage estimates are climbing fast. we have teams covering it all, and we begin in south carolina where ian is bearing down and our nick valencia is in myrtle beach. what are you seeing there, nick? well, ana, we are getting a break in the rain, and wred not expecting it to last, but the residen
thousands are without power still at last check with the emergency management, 13,000 were without power. portions of the pier have been broken off into the atlantic and there was localized flooding with roads inundated with water. as it stands right now, though, we do not know of any reports of injuries. we ve been checking with the local emergency management here. so far it s just significant damage to the piers. there was cause for concern a short time ago, about an hour ago, as we were reporting, a shrimp boat appeared along the atlantic ocean, just really out of nowhere, getting hammered by the choppy waves at the time. it was unclear if anyone was on the boat at the time, initially when we were reporting. we talked to the sheriff and he said the crew was evacuated yesterday by the coast guard. it was anchored a couple of miles away but intense wind caused it to drift onshore, just off camera there s a huge crowd surrounding the boat. somebody tried to climb on top of th
path the danger is real to state the obvious. please obey all warnings. brian in florida desperate search and rescue efforts underway this morning. at least 10 confirmed dead. officials warn that number likely to climb. significant damage that i saw was on fort myers beach there have been more than 700 confirmed rescues and there is likely many more than that. brian: there you go. before and after photos showing the extent of the damage in fort myers. curfew being enforced there to prevent looting. more than 2 million people across florida still have no power. we have live team coverage this morning. meteorologist adam klotz is standing by with ian s latest track. but, first, fox weather correspondent robert wray is live in fort myers with a look at the damage. robert? yeah, it s tremendous. it s really everywhere you look. and especially when you start heading down to fort myers beach where all those rescues have occurred and where governor antioxidant just talked ab