PHOTO GALLERY: Ian lashes South Carolina as Florida’s death toll climbs
By The Associated Press4 min read
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This Planet Labs satellite image shows damages on an island in the Sanibel Causeway, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, after a powerful storm went through the area. A revived Hurricane Ian pounded coastal South Carolina on Friday, ripping apart piers and flooding streets after the ferocious storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida, trapping thousands in their homes and leaving multiple people dead. (Planet Labs via AP)
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This Planet Labs satellite image shows damages on the barrier island of Sanibel, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, after a powerful storm went through the area. A revived Hurricane Ian pounded coastal South Carolina on Friday, ripping apart piers and flooding streets after the ferocious storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida, trapping thousands in their homes and leaving multiple people dead. (Planet Labs via AP)
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Shower stalls are all that remain of the bathhouse at Red Coconut RV Park, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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A road is completely filled with a tall pile of debris from destroyed beachfront homes and businesses, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Residents wait for their phones to charge at a mobile charging station set up in the back of truck by a volunteer from outside the island, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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CORRECTS TO FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION NOT FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE - Clay Wagner, of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, assists Bobby Stillwell with his luggage, as FWC officials help Stillwell and his wife evacuate from a third-story beachfront condo, after Hurricane Ian tore through about one week into the couple's planned three month vacation, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers walk with Bobby, right, and Sue Stillwell, left, to retrieve their luggage from a third-floor beachfront condo, as FWC officials help the couple to evacuate, after Hurricane Ian tore through about one week into the couple's planned three month vacation, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Friends seeing each other for the first time since the passage of Hurricane Ian stop to embrace, as they walk and bike on the island to collect belongings from whatever remains of their homes, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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John Quigley carries a piece of artwork made by his daughter, the only thing he found to salvage from his collapsed home, as he pulls his girlfriend's son Sebastian in a cart while walking off the island, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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In this photo taken with a drone, debris from destroyed buildings lies amidst damaged homes, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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In this photo taken with a drone, debris and damaged buildings are seen two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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In this photo taken with a drone, displaced and damage homes are seen two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Debbie and Lou Evans push their dog Brody on a hotel luggage cart they found amidst the wreckage, as they come to check on their home, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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A massive tree split during the winds and rains of Hurricane Ian bends over power lines and spills out into the street, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
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Family members work together to repair a home after a tree branch fell, damaging the roof, in Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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In this photo taken by a drone, the two-story Getaway Marina building, front, lies reduced to rubble as displaced boats rest along the roadside and a trailer park, at top, lies nearly devoid of homes, following the passage of Hurricane Ian, on San Carlos Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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A boat displaced by Hurricane Ian rests atop a car in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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President Joe Biden speaks about the ongoing federal response efforts for Hurricane Ian from the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Residents use pumps to remove water from around their homes in the Battery as the effects from Hurricane Ian are felt, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Several motorists are stuck in flooding during effects from Hurricane Ian, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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A North Carolina Department of Transportation sign along I-40 near RDU International Airport issues a Tropical Storm Warning, as remnants of Hurricane Ian move into the area on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 in Cary, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)
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This photo provided by the Myrtle Beach Fire Dept., crews respond to rescue people who were trapped on the second floor due to flooding caused by Hurricane Ian, on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Myrtle Beach Fire Dept. via AP)
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A motorist drives though high water, as another turns around during the effects from Hurricane Ian, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they evacuate an apartment complex near the campus that was totally flooded by rain from Hurricane Ian, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. AP Photo/John Raoux)
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An Estero Island resident carries empty jerrycans as he walks to get off the island in search of gas, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Jordan, right, and Chris Libak of south Fort Myers pilot their boat as the couple and their friends volunteer to do wellness checks and provide assistance to people isolated in their homes, two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Wind gusts, blowing down King Street, twist umbrellas during Hurricane Ian in Charleston, S.C., on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier via AP)
NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — As Hurricane Ian ravaged coastal towns in southwest Florida, residents in this quiet suburb thought they would be safe, having no beach and living outside areas under evacuation orders. But then the water kept flowing in.
Since Ian’s passage, water levels have gone up significantly, turning roads into canals, reaching mailboxes, flooding SUVs and trucks, blocking the main access to a an interstate highway and leaving families trapped in their waterlogged homes. Now, as days go by, residents here in the Sarasota suburb of North Port are beginning to run out of food and water.
“Water just keeps going up. Who knows when it is going to stop,” said Samuel Almanzar, 42. He was rescued by crews Friday along with his father, wife and two children, 11 and 6.
As rescue efforts wrapped up Friday, local officials recommended people whose neighborhoods are flooding to evacuate. They said waters in some areas will continue to rise over the next two days.
The floods in North Port show the impact of Ian has not been confined to the beaches and tourist towns. The heavy rains from the storm have ended up flowing into suburban and inland towns not part of hurricane warnings.
It’s the rising rivers that do it because of the hurricane’s deluge, which continues to cause havoc long after the winds have passed. And it’s leading to rescue efforts not that different from those on the coasts.
Floods were reported all across the center of the state: around Orlando and its theme parks, south to Kissimmee, east to Daytona Beach, Arcadia cattle country. People near rivers were deeply affected.
Near North Port, the Florida Department of Transportation closed a stretch of Interstate 75 in both directions late Friday because of the flooded Myakka River.
Dozens of National Guardsmen arrived earlier Friday in North Port– about 85 miles (140 kilometers) south of Tampa — to speed up efforts started Wednesday by firefighters from other states and counties. And city officials were scrambling to open an evacuation center at a high school.
A mother of two cried on the phone, trying to connect with her parents so they could pick them up after coming out of her flooded neighborhood. A woman showed a map to rescuers to reach families with children in the area upon learning water had started to rise inside their homes. A man waded through waist-deep waters with his 8-year-old daughter, trying to venture out to get supplies.
Megan Blevins, who works at a restaurant in nearby Venice, was trying to help the families of coworkers get out but said some were not accessible due to structures collapsing and leaving certain streets without access.
“We can’t get people. We can’t get people to them. There are some older folks we are trying to get to because they can’t move,” she said.
Aimee Bowden, 47, said a tree fell on her house, opening a hole in her kitchen and dining room and letting water pour in. Firefighters going back and forth to pick up families with children evacuated her, with her husband and 13-year-old son in a rescue boat.
“I was terrified. You have your whole life uprooted,” Bowden said. “You try to just keep thinking about what you need to do.”
Just west of North Port, the Myakka River was forecast by the National Weather Service to reach record flood stage Friday at 12.55 feet (3.8 meters) and then crest a bit higher before receding.
The nearby Peace River was set to hit an even higher mark: almost 24 feet (7.3 meters), which is about twice the previous record. It runs through mainly rural areas, especially the cattle town of Arcadia which is home to a well-known Florida rodeo.
There was plenty of concern Friday about the steadily rising river.
“The unpredictability of the river is real, and people are in real danger,” said DeSoto County Fire Chief Chad Jorgensen in a county post. “If you are in these areas, you need to get out now.”
After crossing Florida, Ian moved over the Atlantic Ocean where it curved back into South Carolina on Friday. More than two dozen deaths have been blamed on the storm.
Elvis Padron, 40, a construction worker now applying for political asylum, fled Venezuela with his wife and 8-year-old daughter and crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in February, only to face more hardship.
“My wife refuses to leave. She wants to stay,” said Padron, who waded through the waters to find more supplies and tried to convince his wife on the phone they should leave. “I feel like we don’t have much time left.”
