Florida resort submerged as Category 4 Hurricane Ian batters state

A popular Florida holiday resort has been battered by Hurricane Ian, with storm surges of up to 18 foot forecast to hit the state.

The impacts of Hurricane Ian have devastated Fort Myers, with clips of the damages being posted on social media.

A storm surge usually occurs near the coast during a tropical storm as a result of wind and atmospheric pressure changes.

It results in a rapid rising sea level which can leave devastating impacts as it is seemingly doing so in Fort Myers.

The shocking footage below shows houses floating off their foundations as the Category 4 hurricane hits:

Many videos circulating on social media show debris and vehicles being dragged along by the strong current that have entered local neighbourhoods near the beach.

Some footage even shows the storm surge to be strong enough to have wiped a house out and be carrying it downstream.

In another shocking video, a shark is seen in a Fort Myers neighbourhood after being washed up as a result of the storm surge.

Journalist Kyla Galer stated on Twitter that prior to Hurricane Ian hitting Florida earlier today (28 September), many people had decided not to evacuate.

She said the region of Fort Myers Beach was under a mandatory evacuation order but many of its residents were 'waiting to decide'.

The journalist accompanied the comment with some pictures of people at a local bar, saying 'this bar could be flooded tomorrow'.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned of the possibility of a storm surge talking to local press on Tuesday (27 September), and encouraged residents to prepare for historic flooding.

He said: "It is now a major hurricane.

"Understand the impacts are going to be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall. In some areas, there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge."

DeSantis continued: "Mother nature is a very fearsome adversary. So please heed those warnings.

"You do not need to evacuate to another state. You don't need to go hundreds of miles away. There are shelters that are open and all of these counties at this point."

The governor has updated everyone in recent hours by taking to his Twitter account confirming the hurricane is making landfall, but said Florida 'is ready to respond'.

Hurricane Ian is classed as a category four storm and has maximum sustained winds speeds of 155mph.

It has impacted large parts of Florida with the likes of Disney World in Orlando closed.

NASA has also postponed the planned launch of a moon rocket at Kennedy Space Center.