Hurricane Ian: Florida Begins Recovery as Storm Moves Toward South Carolina

Hurricane Ian moved past central Florida on Thursday evening, allowing hard-hit communities like Fort Myers and Cape Coral to begin recovering. The storm regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to turn back toward South Carolina. 

At least 15 people had been reported dead by Thursday afternoon, CNN (Left bias) reported, although Florida officials had not yet released an official count. President Joe Biden warned Thursday that Ian “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history” after meeting with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials. About 2.7 million utility customers lost power, and flooding left thousands of Floridians trapped; the hurricane’s storm surge wiped out part of a major bridge, cutting off the barrier island city of Sanibel from the mainland. 

Ian was about 240 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina at 5 p.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said. Officials also said parts of North Carolina and Georgia would see “tropical storm conditions,” and issued warnings for Cape Fear and other communities. 

Hurricane Ian’s aftermath in Florida was the top story in almost every major news outlet across the spectrum Thursday evening. Coverage often used sensational language like “slammed” and “monster hurricane.”