partially collapsed and just washed away. ian is blamed for at least 45 deaths. the severe category 4 hurricane wednesday packing sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. the coast guard said it has rescued more than 200 people. but volunteers have gone out to save many more. the cajun navy came to the rescue of a woman in fort myers beach who said she stood on her bed for hours as waters rushed into her home. i am up to my neck in water. okay. all right. i am so cold. hopie, i m losing you. i can t hear you. i love you. i love you. oh, my goodness. you can just hear the desperation and the toerror in that woman s voice.
i m boris sanchez coming to you live from hard-hit fort myers, florida, where cleanup is under way where hurricane ian took aim. boris, good morning, i m amara walker, thank you for starting your morning with us. what is left of hurricane ian is moving north this morning after leaving half the destruction across florida and now the carolinas. and after making landfall as a category 1 hurricane in that region, it s now moving inland as a post-tropical cyclone. and even though it s been downgraded officials warn it still trains that area with heavy rain and flood. yeah, in south carolina, the storm flooded homes and vehicles along the shorelines. and as high winds purged with storm surge higher, two pier, one in pawleys island, and this one in north myrtle beach
possible for these poor folks. scale is just hard to grasp. that was o our bill weir reportining. our coverage ofof the aftermh of hurricane ian continunues throughout the morning. and the day here on cnn. we re going to turn it over to michael smerconish up next. we ll see you in an hour. the audi e-tron family. progress that moves you. this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo fda approved. 100% steroid free.
in fact, the recent launch of 988 suicide prevention text and call line hopefully will help. they saw over 400 contacts in august. and one other thing to point out, we know that firearms are actually used in over 50% of those who die by suicide. and this has led many to focus on safe storage as a big way to at least lower the lethality associated and hopefully keep many more individuals alive. very concerning. thanks to dr. tara narula for that. we are live this morning in fort myers, florida, as rescue and recovery efforts continue in the wake of hurricane ian. up next, we re going to take you to another part of lee county where businesses are left behind as nothing but splinters and boats were tossed into the street. a devastating hurricane for southwest florida. more pictures and stories still ahead.