let anyone know that if they have a boat, get people. our coverage of hurricane ian continues now with anderson cooper 360. the sheriff here in lee county told reporters about the afternoon destruction that is everywhere tonight. no words to describe what we saw and are seeing in the present tense, which is important to note, because this is an ongoing disaster in florida and potentially in coastal carolina. hurricane in yes, it is a hurricane again taste is taking ada. this is what it did to fort myers beach. is the most impressive storm ever to hit this part of florida. here is our first look at the area from above. it is far from the only look at the destruction that can be revealed from the air. in struct the barrier islands hard severing the bridge to pine island, as you can see here, along with the santa bell causeway which is impassable tonight. it also did considerable damage to marinas up and down the coast, pushing even larger boat around like toys. florida
cnn tonight. listen, one of the most catastrophic storms in florida s history, possibly the deadliest, regained strength to become a category 1 hurricane tonight. south carolina is now bracing for ian s wrath sometime happening tomorrow. and the very latest on its track in just a moment. we have yet to learn the full scope of the destruction caused by hurricane ian in florida. but what has certainly come into focus today truly is hard to find words for. at least 17 people have died so far, and that is linked to hurricane ian. president biden warns there could be substantial loss of life, perhaps more killed by a storm in florida than ever before. but it s really too soon to know more. and also too soon to say that the danger has now passed. i mean, there is debris everywhere. there s water everywhere. power lines are down. trees have been shredded. boats thrown on top of one another. countless homes destroyed, entire buildings washed away. fort myers beach took the brunt of
we are carrying out search and rescues across the state. there have been at least 700 rescues confirmed as of thursday. first responders are doing targeted searches. going home by home, checking to see if people are okay. there will be many more rescues that are added. the absolutely expect to have from the surrogate. so far, at least 19 people are confirmed dead. there was a significant number of people that remained on the island during the catastrophic weather event. right now, it is important for us to go ahead and say, are you okay? it will take a few days to get to all of the places that have reports continue to to get them coming in. the scope of the overall destruction is coming in. areas cut off by rubble. look at this mess. we met they were left without power in central florida. falling debris, tornadoes, life-threatening storm surge. in some cases, we need to rebuild rather than simply repair. reporter: cruz look to restore power. floodwaters contin
strength and it s taking aim at the carolinas, where people now are bracing for the worst. i m john berman in ft. myers, florida. the storm now barreling towards south carolina with 85-mile-per-hour winds. it is expected to make its third landfall in the coming hours near myrtle beach. after seeing the damage in florida, the governor of south carolina says, we know what s coming. so this storm might be the largest natural disaster in florida s history. the destruction here in ft. myers, i m standing in the middle of it, it is hard to comprehend. ft. myers beach, i had a chance to fly over it in a helicopter, much of it flattened. one official there describes the damage as, there s really nothing to come back to. at least 19 people have died from this storm. power is out this morning across the state. there have been hundreds of rescues. the coast guard has been out in force, airlifting people from flooded homes and neighborhoods. sanibel island hit very hard. the storm destro
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