Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force, battering the state with damaging winds, torrential rains and dangerous ocean waves that made it one of the most powerful storms on record to hit the US.
Ian hit the island of Cayo Costa as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
In terms of wind speed, it is only slightly weaker than category five on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Dramatic video of the storm surge, captured by a camera on Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, has emerged.
*RARE* first person view of storm surge. This camera is 6 feet off the ground on Estero Blvd in Fort Myers Beach, FL. Not sure how much longer it keeps working. You'll see it live only on @weatherchannel #Ian pic.twitter.com/WwHtvgVxjY
— Mike Bettes (@mikebettes) September 28, 2022
The video shows flash flooding and strong winds, although it was expected to weaken by the time it reached the coast.
Kevin Anderson, the mayor of Fort Myers, said it was "the worst storm he's ever seen."
"I've been here since the mid-70s, this is actually the worst storm I've ever seen," Anderson said.