Hurricane Ian made a second landfall in the continental United States on Friday afternoon when the storm hit South Carolina.
The brutal storm returned to the US shortly after 2pm on Friday. The center of Hurricane Ian hit the small coastal town of Georgetown – about 40 miles south of Myrtle Beach and 60 miles north of Charleston.
Ian hit the Palmetto State sustaining winds of 85 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane. It was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm, but it regained strength as it moved east into the Atlantic.
Many parts of downtown Charleston were flooded, and meteorologists predict the storm surge could reach as high as 7 to 8 feet in parts of the Carolina coast.
At least four piers, including two in Myrtle Beach and one on Pawleys Island, have collapsed into the ocean.
Ian is expected to weaken quickly as it makes its way inland towards North Carolina. However, authorities are still warning residents of as far inland as Boone, North Carolina could see power outages.
Parts of North Carolina are expected to see up to 8 inches of rainwater, Governor Roy Cooper said on Friday.
‘Hurricane Ian is at our door. Expect drenching rain and sustained heavy winds over most of our state,’ he said. ‘Our message today is simple: Be smart and be safe.’
More than 275,000 customers in South Carolina have already lost power. In Florida, some 1.8million people are still without power as recovery efforts begin.
Rescue crews began going door-to-door in some of the hardest hit parts of southwestern Florida to search for survivors, in what Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called a ‘Herculean effort.’
On Thursday, President Biden warned that Hurricane Ian ‘could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history.’ As of Friday afternoon, authorities have confirmed nine deaths from Hurricane Ian, but more fatalities are expected.
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