i m kate bolduan. we want to welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. we re following the devastating impact of hurricane ian right now and some of the first pictures of the devastation and destruction left behind, here s a look in fort myers of the destruction there. new aerials just in here of the catastrophic damage across southwest florida, which took a direct hit from this storm. the storm surge and relentless rain really causing widespread damage that officials are already acknowledging will take a very long time to recover from. and it seems obvious when you see this kind of damage, bridges, roadways wiped out. the bridges, the only vehicle access to sanibel island and pine island are now impassable says the governor. entire sections of these bridges have been washed away essentially cutting off those barrier islands. in port charlotte, the monster winds blew the roof off the intensive care unit at a hospital and also flooded the er, just really scary
the devastation in very direct terms. the impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that was done has been historic and this is just off initial assessments. take a look at fort myers, close to where ian made landfall. you see the downed trees and the boats tossed around like toys. storm surges as high as 7 to 10 feet swept through surrounding areas making streets look more like oceans. ian has left more than 2.5 million floridians without power. folks who were in shelters are leaving to see if they even have a home to return to. the focus is now on the people who did not evacuate. finding a lot of the roads are impassable. we have a lot of power lines down, a lot of flooding going on. i don t want to speculate on fatalities, but we have had some reports being called into us in reference to potential bodies being found. right now the storm is moving eastward through florida with the carolinas and georgia in its sights with flash flooding a major concern. you c
jersey as much room as that takes up. and the reservoirs out west are down to almost zero. we re in a situation where the colorado river looks more like a stream. there s a lot going on. and i think the one thing thas finally ended is discussion of whether or not there s climate change and we should do something about it. folks, i also want to jill and i have had you all in our prayers, and i mean that sincerely. and we re here today because we wanted to tell new person that we re thinking of you, and we re not leaving. we re not leaving until this get done. i promise you that. you know, you walk around here, what s left of fishermen s wharf, and you don t have to have much imagination to understand that everything is historic, titanic, and unimaginable storm just ripped it to pieces. you got to start from scratch. got to move again. it s going to take a lot, a lot of time. not weeks or months. it s going to take years for everything to get squared away in the state of fl
Guys, confirm to my ears is this ridgecrest . It appears to be a house fire. Mayor breeden, this may be one of the five fires you were describing. It is absolutely raging. You see fire on the scene. Can you just give us an update . You say you believe there have been five fires. Youre not entirely sure if theyre under control. I do not know that officially. As i look around me i can see smoke but i cannot see i cannot see other than one, and thats still black smoke. Theres others that im sure that i only know of the report. And you mention as we stay on these images, you mention checking in with an assisted living facility. Did they have power . Is power totally out where you are . In some places its out and others it isnt. Okay. Okay, ridgecrest, california mayor Peggy Breeden you have many more people to talk to on the phone. Thank you so much for jumping on with me and my best to you. Dorothia smith is with me on the phone. And she felt the earthquake in trona, california, 20 miles