Photo: Sean Rayford / Getty Images
By: Real America News Updated 28 Sep 2022, 000: pm EDT
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida and unleashed its wrath on power grids as it passed, where more than 226, 000 people suffered power outages, according to tracking at poweroutage.us. So far, Southwest Florida has borne the brunt of the impact, with Lee County, home to Fort Myers, reporting more than 226,000 cuts, which affected almost the 50% of their customers tracked.
Neighboring Collier County had more than 100,000 reported blackouts at the same time.
Reports of outages continue to spread north along the Gulf Coast, with major outages ranging as north as Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Some areas along Florida’s east coast are also experiencing blackouts, with more than 29,000 reported in Miami-Dade.
Florida officials have been warning for days about potential power problems. Ian has been relentless in his ways, knocking out power to all of Cuba when he swept across the island on Tuesday, though some areas have since been restored.
The National Weather Service warned before landfall that the Hurricane Ian would cause “catastrophic” wind damage in Southwest Florida. Service Director Ken Graham said during a Wednesday press conference that the storm will take 23 hours to complete its tour of the state after the eye made landfall.
Read more:
Authorities are looking for 23 Immigrants who went by boat in the middle of Hurricane Ian
Videos show the intensity of the powerful category 4 hurricane Ian that made landfall in Florida
Hurricane Ian made landfall and Governor DeSantis says Florida is ready to respond