i m john berman in ft. myers, florida, and the storm has intensified again. 85-mile-per-hour winds, heading towards the carolinas. this after tearing the destructive path across florida. it is expected to make landfall in south carolina around midday, somewhere between charleston and myrtle beach. it could produce life-threatening floods there in the carolinas. this is already liskely the largest natural disaster in florida s history. i m standing in the middle of some of the damage, in a marina where the boats have been washed up on to the shore here. parts of florida have been seriously damaged. as of this morning, 19 storm-related deaths. that number will almost certainly rise. in ft. myers beach, some of the destruction is breathtaking. i had a chance to have an aerial view of it, take a helicopter ride over, and there were sections that were just washed away. the pier, the large pier there, you can see it almost better from air. that s just been completely washed away. a
of ian s destruction in florida is still being revealed. we re seeing horrifying new images of wiped out communities, as rescue operations continue and the death toll rises. also tonight, vladimir putin vows victory will be ours. that s what he says and throws a red square celebration after annexing one fifth of ukraine. the u.s. and its allies are condemning the land grab as illegal and president biden is warning putin won t get away with what he calls this dangerous escalation of the war. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. this is cnn breaking news. we re following the breaking news right now in south carolina, ian s newest target, after its catastrophic onslaught in florida. cnn correspondents are on the scene in both states, covering this disaster. and our weather center is tracking ian s path right now. first, let s go to cnn s miguel marquez in pauley s island in south carolina
on the ground and from choppers overhead. a nursing home evacuated in orlando. first responders with children in their arms, carrying them to safety. tonight, president biden warning of what could be a horrific death toll here. we have just learned the storm is now a hurricane again, regaining strength for its run up the east coast. tonight, nearly 2 million customers here in florida are without power. and tonight, we re with the families, those who sought shelter and who are still unable to get back to their homes. some who lost everything in the blink of an eye. georgia and the carolinas bracing in the coming hours. now the storm surge threatening charleston. chief meteorologist ginger zee, senior meteorologist rob marciano, both here in florida with me tonight. and our team spread out across the storm zone. the other major news this thursday night, the stunning turn in the war in ukraine. just days after those alarming images showing pro-russian soldiers armed with assau
of the florida coast of that this is sanibel island, an island decimated by hurricane ian. right now there s no way to get help in to sanibel. the only bridge that connected the island to the mainland, it s a long causeway, it s caved in. so there s no way to get on or off the island unless you travel by boat. and that s been incredibly difficult for anyone to do. and that loss right now spans the florida coast. i ll show you cape coral. our bill weir was here today. this is a picture he took. you can see home after home totally destroyed and flooded. the ones that are still standing, you can see siding ripped off. at one point ian s winds were 155 miles an hour. we re going to have much more from bill weir in a moment. not far from where he took those images, ft. myers beach, striking images of what is left. not much. the beach community 48 hours ago looked like that. now, take a look at this. estero boulevard, 24 hours later. a restaurant called the whale surrounded by debr
12 feet higher, devastating communities like for the myers, naples and some 2 million homes and businesses are without power in florida, that is 20% of the entire state and 96% of fort myers is in the dark. one official saying it could take weeks for the power to come back on in some areas. floodwater inundating areas like naples and port charlotte. these are pictures of that area leaving some people who decided to ride out the storm trapped in their homes, others rescued from their cars, berman. the danger also continues, we should note. reporter: it absolutely does continue. the storm not done yet. brianna, i m sorry for communication problems earlier. the fema administrator told me they are prepared for thousands of displaced people, thousands perhaps of long-term displaced people. so that is what people are up against here in florida right now. cnn s got live team coverage of ian still very much a powerful force. first i want to go to the national hurricane center. mike