damage to the south carolina coast where it struck today as a category 1 hurricane. this is the cherry grove pier in north myrtle beach, one of two that partially collapsed today. and just as on the florida gulf coast and later in orlando ian caused significant flooding in the charleston and myrtle beach areas and knocked out power to about a third of a million customers in south and north carolina. so we ve also just received some new video in of a high wave sweeping several people off a pier in miami. we have a big wave and about five people so that s in miami still from the high tide and the waves being kicked up by ian. six people were hurt in that. no one, thank goodness, was killed. state-wide, the death toll is now at least 42, and that is expected to rise. and the damage especially in places like fort meyers beach became even more apparent today. it is so severe that a coast guard commander told our wolf blitzer his chopper crews simply do not have monday landma
completely blown over by the wind. but what s completely striking about this spot is the boats that have been tossed across the street here. we have a bit of a bottleneck of human activity because this is the road to fort myers beach, and the sheriff s department is not letting anybody on. if you haven t seen any pictures of fort myers beach, this is why. there is a first and former law in florida that s suppose today give us access when there s a state of emergency, but you got to feel for the sheriff s deputies just trying to manage the crowds here that are piling in. you ve got journalists, you ve got first responders, you have residents who are just curious coming by. but this is what i wanted to show you. this is across san carlos boulevard. and just get a load of this. just wanton, indiscriminate destruction. but that is nothing compared to what we saw then when we came back here to fort myers and put the drawn up over the yacht base here. this is around joe s crab shac
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
tonight keeping them honest with signs other times in the political climate today. they run the gambit from the downright dangerous to the nearly trembling and absurd. it s fair to ask if there is a threat connecting all of them, political philosophy of nihilism driving it or whether this was a moment for whatever reason that one example, new mexico, for home shot at belonging to democratic officials. the man now in custody and charged in connection with the crimes was a republican who lost the state house race in a landslide and refused to concede. he seemed agitated, he seemed a little aggressive to me. i did not consider him a threat then, but he was upset that he lost the election. that s debbie o malley, who joins us shortly. she said police who may be who tweeted after the election, quote, trump just sentenced for 2024, i stand with him. i never conceded my h g 14 race, not considering my options. the options he allegedly chose was politically motivated, that
i want the after pete: the aftermath of hurricane ian leaves florideans picking up the pieces. search and rescue efforts in the sunshine state are underway. 30 people confirmed dead and 27 deaths in florida alone. more than 1 million people in florida are without power. will: ian making land fall in south carolina yesterday and battering the east from the atlantic side as a hurricane surging inland as a post-tropical cyclone. several piers including this one on polly s island collapsing into the water. rachel: team coverage with meteorologist rick reichmuth standing by. thank god we have him today but we have alexandria hoff on the ground in fort meyers. good morning. good morning, there s a line of ambulances that are ready to be deployed as the day goes on and it s a somber reminder on the highways and yesterday you d be driving down and coming from fort meyers beach and fort meyers beach almost completely washed away and recovery efforts are more methodical and will co