carolinas at this hour with high winds, heavy rain and the threat of floods. now, officials say the storm thankfully has been downgraded from a hurricane, but it still poses a threat as it makes its way inland. it has already caused considerable damage in south carolina where it made landfall friday. now, you see that video there. it s the storm ripping through a pier in north myrtle beach causing part of it to collapse. now, it also submerged this neighborhood with a storm surge that was several feet high. so far, thankfully again there have been no reported deaths in south carolina. it s not the case in florida. at least 45 people have lost their lives, and we re getting a clearer picture of the extraordinary damage this storm left behind. entire neighborhoods that were once brimming with life i mean look at it. they re now flattened fields littered with debris. this is footage from fort myers beach where one woman s struggle to survive was captured in a phone call. i a
it is 5:00 a.m. and with daylight will come more of a sense of damage and countless homes have been destroyed. but in the middle of all that devastation, we re often seeing inspiring scenes like this, a local reporter saving ae iing ad nurse who was pleading for help. he had to carry theoryher to sa his back. pawleys island, the storm washed parts of the pier away. authorities are still assessings damage and working to restore power. and brian todd is in naples, florida with a closer look at the damage there. nothing left. zero. the full extent of hurricane ian s destruction now coming fully into view. aerial damage assessments showing coastal florida neighborhoods with roofing tore off, homes flattened, house either flooded or wiped out. some buildings with nothing left but the concrete slab. remote lotions locations cut of the mainland. these images showing how hard sanibel was hit. only way to access that is either by sea or by air. reporter: so far more than 700
landfall as a hurricane. ian is moving inland as a post-tropical cyclone. even though it s been downgraded, officials warn it could cause heavy rain, wind, and floods. in south carolina the storm flooded homes and vehicles along the shoreline. you can see in this video high winds pushed the storm surge even higher, and two piers, one in pawleys island and one in myrtle beach both partially collapsed. officials are warning residents to avoid leaving their homes, 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. so the waters themselves are the most dangerous. ian slammed into southwest florida as a severe category 4 hurricane on wednesday. it almost became a category 5, packing sustained winds at 150 miles an hour. the storm is now being blamed for at least 45 deaths, though, officials believe t
pushing heavy rain and wind into cities that are vulnerable with flooding. after the path wiped out florida s west coast leaving parts of the state swamped, draining vital resources, emergency rooms forced to turn away patients, in the state s costliest hurricane on record. plus, putin makes his land grab official, the biggest annexation and absorb in europe, as protesters here leave their mark vandalizing the russian consulate. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper, hurricane ian making his third landfall in south carolina after previously hitting florida and cuba earlier this week. residents of south carolina are looking southward no doubt at what happened in florida with dread. in the sunshine state, clean up beginning. ian decimated parts of fort myers beach, winds whipping hotels, restaurants, it s a similar scene on sanibel island, homes, hotels, docks, destroyed, littering the beaches with debris. listen to how president biden described the destruction earlier today
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