Florida rapidly transformed into a disaster zone inundated by seawater as Hurricane Ian hit the state on Wednesday after pummeling Cuba on Tuesday and leaving the island nation without power for hours.
A time-lapse video shared widely on social media showed how the floodwater swept away cars as Hurricane Ian reached its peak wind speeds of 155 mph shortly before landfall in Florida, generating life-threatening storm surges of up to 12 feet.
Watch video here:
Ahead of Hurricane Ian's landfall, more than 2.5 million residents had been told to evacuate as emergency shelters were made. Although, Hurricane Ian's winds diminished significantly after nightfall and the storm was downgraded to Category 1, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
{{/usCountry}}Ahead of Hurricane Ian's landfall, more than 2.5 million residents had been told to evacuate as emergency shelters were made. Although, Hurricane Ian's winds diminished significantly after nightfall and the storm was downgraded to Category 1, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
{{/usCountry}}"This storm is doing a number on the state of Florida," said Governor Ron DeSantis.
The slow-moving hurricane will continue to unleash rain which could result to more flooding, NHC warned.