Horrifying footage shows how high the water level is in Florida after Hurricane Ian hit the coast

Horrifying footage shows the carnage Hurricane Ian is wreaking on America's Sunshine State.

The hurricane was only a few miles under being classed as a Category Five storm; the highest on the hurricane disaster scale.

But to really work realize how hectic this storm is, check out the footage below.

The wild footage of the intense storm surge in Florida was shared by Weather Channel Meteorologist Mike Bettes.

He said the footage sits nearly two metres off the ground on Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach.

"Rare first person view of storm surge," Bettes captioned the video. "Not sure how much longer it [will] keep working."

He then shared an image of the street view that his camera normally captures... and it is fairly mind-boggling.

"Here is what this view typically looks like," Bettes said, sharing an image of a typical street featuring a carpark with a few palm trees dotted around the asphalt.

The incredible footage has since gone viral, with over 27,000 retweets at time of writing.

Other videos have started to surface as Hurricane Ian pelts the coast, with another clip showing waves reaching the roofs of single-story houses as boats that have been ripped from their moors drift by.

Another video, also shared by Bettes, was captioned: "The Gulf of Mexico has taken over."

Waves can be seen churning over streets and up to the roofs of houses as the storm surge continues.

Neighbouring Collier County will also face a curfew from 10pm local time on Wednesday (September 28) and will remain in effect through to Thursday (September 29) at 6am.

First responders and staff at hospitals and other essential businesses are exempt as the costal regions battens down for a rough night of weathering the storm.

Hurricane Ian made its initial landfall at 3:05pm local time at Cayo Costa, Florida.