be felt nearly 300 miles from the center, which means that millions of people across the south from georgia to virginia will be affected. this is the scene in the towns of myrtle beach and south port, south carolina. they are facing life threatening storm surge from hurricane ian. we are also getting a fuller picture of the devastation on the ground now in towns across florida. the new york times describing it this way. quote, the scale of the wreckage was staggering. even to florida residents who had survived and rebuilt after other powerful hurricanes, this storm pulverized roads. it toppled trees, gutted downtown store fronts and set cars afloat, leaving a soggy scar of ruined homes and businesses from the coastal cities of naples and fort myers to inland communities across the state including orlando. at least 14 deaths have been linked to the storm. more than 1.8 million people are now without power. more than 700 rescues have taken place including these from sanibel i
hello, i m abby phillip in washington. thank you for joining us today. it is the nightmare that just won t end. southwest airlines canceling thousands more flights with airports coast to coast already packed. more than 4,800 flights today and tomorrow no longer on the books, nearly 16,000 canceled since thursday. all week we have been meeting miserable passengers and southwest says it ll be days before this all clears up. busloads of stranded customers arriving at houston hobby airport this morning, some on the road for more than 24 hours and at chicago midway, this is the sea of luggage that is finally moving. workers are now scrambling to reunite passengers with their bags. we ll begin with cnn s nick valencia at hartsfield jackson international airport in atlanta. another major connecting point for southwest nick, what is happening there behind you? reporter: yeah, hey there, abby. the line here behind me is noticeably shorter than it has been the last several days and t
hello, i m sara sidner in for victor blackwell. welcome to cnn newsroom. the southwest airline meltdown is now in its seventh day of derailing people s travel plans. since last thursday, the company has cancelled more than 15,000 flights, including 2300 set for tomorrow. flight aware finds 89% of the nation s cancellations just today belong to southwest airlines. transportation secretary pete buttigieg promises to hold the nation s largest domestic carrier accountable. but for some passengers, southwest may never be able to make up for days of delay. misplaced luggage and ruined holidays. i hate southwest. southwest, i hate them. i hate them. how did you make out? i was there from 12:00 12:00, still stranded. i need to drive nine more hours. i m upset, i m stressed, i m tired and i hate them. okay. she did not pull any punches there. cnn correspondent nick valencia is outside of hartsfield-jackson airport, the busiest in the world. nick, what are you hearing
and they ll have to be rebuilt. unfortunately, there are also homes and businesses that will simply not be able to safely take the power once it s ready. but the 20,000 plus men and women who are already here are staging and getting on the field currently. they will work 24/7 until we get the lights back on. again, as the governor said, not our first rodeo, but every storm is also different and always poses different challenges. but appreciate all the support from the state. governor, thank you. from local law enforcement as well, national guard. this is a team sport and a team effort, and we re going to all work together until we get florida back up on her feet and where we all want her to be. thank you. when fdl and the other companies have crews in, the extent to which that infrastructure has remained is just critical because, you know, it s a lot easier for them to reconnect an existing system than to have to rebuild it. to see that was able to withstand is encouraging.
coast guard deployed 16 rescue helicopters, six fixed wing aircraft and 18 rescue boats and crews. that s just one element of the many federal search and rescue teams staged in florida and the governor talked about how impressed he was with what the coast guard is going this morning. these are dangerous missions and i m grateful for the brave women and men, federal, state and local governments working as one team, risking their lives to save others. and we re going to learn a lot more in the coming hours. but we know many families are hurting, many are hurting today, and our entire country hurts with them, because all over the country we ve seen so many crises, but in florida today is the epicenter. we re continuing to see deadly rainfall, catastrophic storm surges, roads and homes flooded. we re seeing millions of people without power and thousands hunkered down in schools and commune centers. they re wondering what s going to be left when they get to go home, quote, unquote