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
considerable damage in parts of south carolina. you see it in this video. that storm ripping through a pier causing part of it to collapse. now, it also submerged this neighborhood with a strong storm surge that, in fact, was several feet high. it was so bad this man it was so bad this man had to wade through knee-deep water inside his own home. thankfully the water there is starting to recede, and some areas in the state have been spared the worst. but in florida the damage has been severe. at least 45 people have now lost their lives and hundreds of homes have been turned, well, you see there just piles of debris. the coast guard is trying to rescue survivors. president joe biden said more help is on the way. it s just a crisis for florida. it s an american crisis. we re all in this together. i ve spoken to governor desantis on multiple occasions as well as this morning as well as mayors and county officials both republican and democrat from places most affected. now,
this afternoon it came ashore as near category 5 strength, as a high category 4 after bidding for hours as it approached. oh, you got to be kidding me! you got to be kidding me right now! right now it is still a category 3 storm, still a major hurricane with damaging winds spanning out 175 miles from the center. oh, my god. no less troubling than the winds tonight, potentially even worse hurricane ian is still pushing a massive storm surge onshore. forecasts as high as 18 feet in places where buildings living close to the water was why so many people moved there. take a look. this is fort meyers beach, and that is a community outreach center knocked off its foundation and floating down the street. making matters worse, the flood waters affecting residents who are doing the same to rescuers. a fire station here in naples is what first responders are up against along with anyone needing emergency help. and again, these conditions are not expected to improve throughout t
what president biden has called playing politics with human beings, former governor ron desantis, promised these flights are only the beginning. so they ve been in texas identifying people trying to come to florida and then offering them free transportation to sanctuary jurisdictions, and so they went from texas to florida to martha s vineyard. it was a flight. there s also going to be buses and there ll likely be more flights. but i ll tell you this, the legislature gave me $12 million. we re going to spend every penny of that to make sure we re protecting the people of the state of florida. governor ron desantis along with the governor of texas are transporting migrants to well-known liberal enclaves. critics say they re being used as props. the governors and their supporters say it s a protest of what is an inadequate federal response. for more on the politics of this debate in a moment. cnn s miguel marquez has been on martha s vineyard and has their story. reporter
flights.s. but i ll tell you thisis, the legislature gave me $12 million. we re going to spend every penny of that to make sure we re protecting the people of the state of florida. governor ron desantis along with the governor of texas are transporting migrants to well-known liberal enclaves. critics say they re being used as props. the governors and their supporters say it s a protest of what they say is an inadequate federal response of crossing the border. more on the politics of this debate in a moment. cnn s miguel marquez has been on martha s vineyard and has their story. reporter: after less than 48 unexpected hours in martha s vineyard, nearly 50 venezuelan migrants were given a warm send-off. volunteers embracing each person as they boarded buses, then ferries, and onto the next part of their long journey. their announced arrival wednesday all part of a campaign by texas governor greg abbott and florida governor ron desantis to send migrants to see called sanctua