Horrifying footage shows the carnage Hurricane Ian is wreaking on America's Sunshine State.
The storm system made landfall in Florida on Wednesday (September 28) as a powerful Category Four storm, with winds close to 150mph as it hit the coast.
The hurricane was only a few miles under being classed as a Category Five storm; the highest on the hurricane disaster scale.
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But to really work realize how hectic this storm is, check out the footage below.
NBC reports that the National Hurricane Centre has warned of 'life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding in the Florida Peninsula' with millions under evacuation orders.
The wild footage of the intense storm surge in Florida was shared by Weather Channel Meteorologist Mike Bettes.
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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.
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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.
NBC reports that mandatory curfews have been issued for Fort Myers as Hurricane Ian batters the coastal city.
Fort Myers Police said on Twitter: "The City of Fort Myers has issued an emergency citywide curfew to protect and safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of residents, visitors, and first responders. The curfew will be in effect, beginning at 6pm for the next 48 hours."
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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.
Topics: US News, Weather, News
