Devastating pictures show scale of Hurricane Ian after it smashes into Florida
Entire homes have been destroyed and washed away by catastrophic floods in Florida.
Roads, cars and trees were also ripped apart as Hurricane Ian hit the southwest part of the state yesterday afternoon.
The category four storm wreaked complete havoc before being downgraded to category one early this morning.
No deaths have been reported in the US, but the storm killed two people when it tore into Cuba, bringing down the country’s electrical grid.
Further tragedy struck when a boat carrying Cuban migrants sank east of Key West on Wednesday, with up to 20 people missing.
The US coastguard was able to find three survivors while four others managed to swim to Stock Island, just east of Key West.
The hurricane brought torrential rain, leaving American neighbourhoods underwater.
Pictures show terrifying scenes, with areas unrecognisable after being completely submerged in water.
Ian’s rain was accompanied by 150mph winds – earning it the title of the fourth-strongest storm to ever hit the US.
It is tied with 2004’s Hurricane Charley, which made landfall in a similar spot to Hurricane Ian on August 14 of that year.
This storm also brought 150mph winds but its eye was smaller than Ian’s and ultimately caused less damage.
Ian dropped in strength to 90mph winds as it moved overland last night.
But more than two million Florida homes and businesses were left without electricity.
The storm is currently travelling towards South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia – where all governors have declared states of emergency.
Forecasters predicted Ian will hit those states as a tropical storm, likely dumping more flooding rains into the weekend.
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