is being described, look at the pictures, as total devastation. this is a city that is impassable. even for bicycles, 90% of the island, 90 percent of fort myers beach is destroyed and up and down the western coast people are still reeling for likely the largest natural disaster in the history of the state. the biggest fear that stha you ll see your personal effects gone or all over the place. and that is what happened. also at this hour, the reopening process por some begins. tampa and walt disney world will reopen this hour. we re also watching this, which is a very historic moment at the supreme court this morning as justice ketanji brown jackson is ceremonial sworn in by chief justice john roberts. we are covering all angle this is morning. we begin with nick valencia on the next front in myrtle beach, south carolina. the wind is blowing and what do you see right now and what do you expect in the coming hour? reporter: good morning. it is soggy and cold and the wi
lost everything lost night. i ve been in the house since 1987. pictures and memories. just gone. and there was a front door and it was a surge and it took me to the middle of the yard and i fought to get back into the porch. i would have gotten me and my family ahead of time. and where do you start? that is a question so many people are asking right now. in just minutes, president biden is going to be giving an update on the federal response to this dafter. we ll bring you the remarks live. before that, let s get to chad myers with where the storm is heading now. what are you seeing. a third landfall, including cubia. two in the u.s. this is an 85 mile per hour storm still. it is between myrtle beach and charleston. that is the area that will see the greatest amount of surge moving into the estuaries. it is called low country for a reason. these are very low marshes through across parts of south carolina. and we re seeing that spin on the radar, not that far fro
with over 6.2 million people under a hurricane warning here. sandbags lining the charleston streets, the governor says he knows what is coming. and now, zooming out, still trying to comprehend the tol tolerating pain, and the death toll. and now, sanibel island is only reachable by boat, and city after city in florida decimated by hurricane ian. and in fort myers, decimated by heaps of concrete and debris and the people trying to pick up their lives and send help. we lost everything last night, everything. the family is okay, and the dogs are okay, and the parents are okay, and we have lost everything, and we have been in the house since 1987, and everything is gone, pictures, memories, everything. and now, going to charleston where the community is waiting, and we have miguel marcus there, and the high tide just as the hurricane is set to come ashore, and what are you seeing? yeah, it is pretty miserable right now, and this is the worst that we have seen. the winds are
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
in fort myers beach, it is even hard to bike through the destruction. the messages from residents there, if you can send help, we need it. sanibel and cap teva islands cut off from the main land, only accessible by boat or air after, as you know, ian destroyed this major bridge that connects them to the main land. many of the homes there are in pieces or completely washed away. the coast guard is now going door to door, still trying to rescue people. make sure you have a bag for your clothes, with i.d., cell phones, wallets. emergency officials will run barges to sanibel island to help with cleanup and recovery efforts there. but let s begin in south carolina, cnn s nick valencia is in myrtle beach. tell us what is happening around you right now. reporter: it is a little hard to hear because the wind is such a major factor, just in the last few minutes these gusts of wind have crept up to about 40 to 50 miles per hour. and, you know, the sustained wind is almost as bad. f