we re going to take you to one of the hardest-hit areas where almost an entire island was decimated. and her rescue during the hurricane made headlines. a nurse desperately trying to get to work was caught in the rising floodwaters. thankfully a nearby reporter was there, saved her and saw her. and that is my guest tonight. good evening, i m erin burnett. out front tonight, ian s fury still remains an extremely dangerous storm making its way through the carolinas tonight. let me show you this powerful video showing a pier in north myrtle beach torn into pieces as the hurricane came ashore. the storm surge ripping through neighborhoods like the ones i m showing you here, leaving even more destruction of homes in its wake. even these homes built up on sticks. so many of them deeply damaged. and parts of charleston s historic downtown also underwater. and tonight there is still concern for life-threatening floods as the storm could dump up to 12 inches of rain as it moves no
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
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
track. where dangerous hurricane ian is heading next. classrooms turned into bedrooms. we visit shelters and speak to families riding out the storm together. my main focus was getting them to safety. o donnell: and remembering legendary cbs newsman, bill plante, who covered more than half a century of history. this is the cbs evening news with norah o donnell, reporting tonight from tampa, florida. o donnell: good evening to our viewers in the west, and thank you for joining us. as we come on the air tonight, the state of florida is being pummeled by hurricane ian. the massive category 4 storm storm made landfall this afternoon with winds at 150 miles per hour. but at this hour, ian is still a dangerous category 3 hurricane. ian ian slammed ashore north of fort myers, with dangerous winds and catastrophic storm surge. tonight hurricane ian is dumping tremendous amounts of rain along the i-4 corridor. ian has already dropped 18 inches of rain. to get a better understan
of biblical proportions. ian is a cat 4 storm bringing 140 mile-per-hour winds and leaving a wake of destruction in its path. the national hurricane center is warning of catastrophic window damage with an unsuburb viable storm surge of up to 18 feet. it is expected to dump 2 feet of rain across the state bringing unprecedented flooding and destruction. entire neighborhoods are now undersea as water levels continue to rise. homes are floating down the middle of the street and people are swimming in their living rooms. by the way authorities say it s a very bad idea. who knows what s in that water. and first responders rescue services can t escape the flooding either. this fire department in naples is completely under water. leaving the city s residents on their own. and things are even worse in the air where hurricane hunters are flying into the heart of the storm. watch. oh [bleep] jesse: more than 2 million people in the state were told to evacuate, with thousands more h