AFP UK

Whitney Hall waves an American flag amidst the wreckage of his home in Matlacha, Florida

Hurricane Ian, one of the worst storms ever to hit the United States, roared into South Carolina on Friday, delivering a powerful second punch after walloping Florida.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Ian made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour.

It was later downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone but the NHC warned coastal residents that the “dangerous storm surge, flash flooding and high wind threat continues.”

As for storm-ravaged Florida, President Joe Biden said: “We’re just beginning to see the scale of the destruction.

“It’s likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history,” he said of Ian, which barreled into Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm, a tick shy of the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.

CNN, citing state and county reporting, said the storm had left at least 42 people dead in Florida but state officials cited a figure of 21 and said 20 of those deaths had not been confirmed yet as storm-related.

Seventeen migrants also remain missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard. One person was found dead and nine others rescued, including four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

With damage estimates running into the tens of billions of dollars, Biden said it’s “going to take months, years to rebuild.”

“It’s not just a crisis for Florida,” he said. “This is an American crisis.”

CoreLogic, a firm that specializes in property analysis, said wind-related losses for residential and commercial properties in Florida could cost insurers up to $32 billion while flooding losses could go as high as $15 billion.

“This is the costliest Florida storm since Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992,” CoreLogic’s Tom Larsen said.

– ‘We made it through’ – 

In Florida, rescue teams were assisting survivors on Friday and the Coast Guard said it had made 117 rescues using boats and helicopters of people trapped in flooded homes.

Governor Ron DeSantis said hundreds of other rescue personnel were going door-to-door “up and down the coastline.”

DeSantis said the coastal town of Fort Myers where the hurricane made landfall, was “ground zero” but “this was such a big storm that there are effects far inland.”

Many Floridians evacuated ahead of the storm, but thousands chose to shelter in place and ride it out.

More than 1.6 million Florida residents were still without electricity on Friday and two barrier islands near Fort Myers — Pine Island and Sanibel Island — were cut off after the storm damaged causeways.

More than 350,000 people were without power in North and South Carolina, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.

In Fort Myers, a handful of restaurants and bars reopened, giving an illusion of normalcy amid downed trees and shattered storefronts.

Dozens of people sat out on terraces under a bright sun, drinking beer and eating.

Dylan Gamber, 23, said he had been waiting for two hours at a pizzeria to get food to bring home.

“It was kind of bad, but we made it through,” Gamber said. “The roof of our house came off, a big tree collapsed across our vehicles, our yard was flooded, but other than that we were pretty good.

“As a community, we seem to be coming together and helping each other out.”

– ‘All submerged’ –

In nearby Bonita Springs, Jason Crosser, 37, was inspecting the damage to his store.

“The water went over the whole building,” Crosser said. “It was all submerged. It’s all saltwater and water damage.”

After making landfall in South Carolina, Ian is expected to weaken fast and dissipate by Saturday night.

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island’s power network.

Electricity was gradually returning, but many homes remain without power.

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say — including with Ian.

According to a rapid and preliminary analysis, human-caused climate change increased the extreme rain that Ian unleashed by over 10 percent, US scientists said.

A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Hurricane Ian, one of the worst storms ever to hit the United States, made landfall in South Carolina on Friday, delivering a powerful second punch after pummeling Florida.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm struck near Georgetown, South Carolina, at 2:05 pm (1805 GMT) as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour.

The NHC warned people living along the Carolina coast that Ian could deliver “life-threatening storm surge” of up to seven feet (two meters) and damaging winds.

After weakening to a tropical storm as it crossed over Florida, where it caused billions of dollars in damage, Ian regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic.

President Joe Biden urged residents of South and North Carolina to “listen to all the warnings and directions from local officials and follow their instructions.”

As for storm-ravaged Florida, where at least 21 deaths have been reported, Biden said: “We’re just beginning to see the scale of the destruction.

“It’s likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history,” he said of Ian, which barreled into Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm, a tick shy of the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.

“It’s going to take months, years to rebuild,” Biden said. “It’s not just a crisis for Florida. This is an American crisis.”

In Florida, rescue workers were busy assisting survivors on Friday and the Coast Guard said it had made 117 rescues using boats and helicopters.

The storm left hundreds of people in need of help in Florida, many trapped in flooded homes.

Governor Ron DeSantis said over 1,000 rescuers were going “up and down the coastline” checking on residents.

“Rescue personnel have gone to more than 3,000 homes in the hardest hit areas, going door to door to check on the occupants,” he said.

– ‘Ground zero’ –

DeSantis said the coastal town of Fort Myers where the hurricane made landfall, was “ground zero” but “this was such a big storm that there are effects far inland.”

Many people evacuated, but thousands chose to shelter in place and ride out the storm.

DeSantis said it was too early to give a death toll.

State officials said there had been one confirmed death from Ian and at least 20 others have been reported but have not yet been confirmed as being directly due to the storm.

In addition, 17 migrants were missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, with one person found dead and nine others rescued, the Coast Guard said. Among them were four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

DeSantis said about 1.9 million Florida residents were still without power on Friday and two barrier islands near Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel Island, were cut off after the storm damaged causeways.

In Fort Myers, a handful of restaurants and bars reopened on Friday, giving an illusion of normalcy amid downed trees and shattered storefronts.

Dozens of people sat out on terraces under a bright sun, drinking beer and eating.

Dylan Gamber, 23, said he had been waiting for two hours at a pizzeria to get food to bring home.

“It was kind of bad, but we made it through,” he said. “The roof of our house came off, a big tree collapsed across our vehicles, our yard was flooded, but other than that we were pretty good.”

“As a community, we seem to be coming together and helping each other out.”

– ‘All submerged’ –

In nearby Bonita Springs, Jason Crosser, 37, was inspecting the damage to his store.

“The water went over the whole building,” Crosser said. “It was all submerged. It’s all saltwater and water damage.”

After making landfall in South Carolina, Ian is expected to weaken fast and dissipate by Saturday night.

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island’s power network.

Electricity was gradually returning, but many homes remain without power.

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say — including with Ian.

According to a rapid and preliminary analysis, human-caused climate change increased the extreme rain that Ian unleashed by over 10 percent, US scientists said.

A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Hurricane Ian, one of the worst storms ever to hit the United States, made landfall in South Carolina on Friday, delivering a powerful second punch after pummeling Florida.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm struck near Georgetown, South Carolina, at 2:05 pm (1805 GMT) as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour.

The NHC warned people living along the Carolina coast that Ian could deliver “life-threatening storm surge” of up to seven feet (two meters) and damaging winds.

After weakening to a tropical storm as it crossed over Florida, where it caused billions of dollars in damage, Ian regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic.

President Joe Biden urged residents of South and North Carolina to “listen to all the warnings and directions from local officials and follow their instructions.”

As for storm-ravaged Florida, where at least 21 deaths have been reported, Biden said: “We’re just beginning to see the scale of the destruction.

“It’s likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history,” he said of Ian, which barreled into Florida’s southwest coast on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm, a tick shy of the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.

“It’s going to take months, years to rebuild,” Biden said. “It’s not just a crisis for Florida. This is an American crisis.”

In Florida, rescue workers were busy assisting survivors on Friday and the Coast Guard said it had made 117 rescues using boats and helicopters.

The storm left hundreds of people in need of help in Florida, many trapped in flooded homes.

Governor Ron DeSantis said over 1,000 rescuers were going “up and down the coastline” checking on residents.

“Rescue personnel have gone to more than 3,000 homes in the hardest hit areas, going door to door to check on the occupants,” he said.

– ‘Ground zero’ –

DeSantis said the coastal town of Fort Myers where the hurricane made landfall, was “ground zero” but “this was such a big storm that there are effects far inland.”

Many people evacuated, but thousands chose to shelter in place and ride out the storm.

DeSantis said it was too early to give a death toll.

State officials said there had been one confirmed death from Ian and at least 20 others have been reported but have not yet been confirmed as being directly due to the storm.

In addition, 17 migrants were missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, with one person found dead and nine others rescued, the Coast Guard said. Among them were four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

DeSantis said about 1.9 Florida residents were still without power on Friday and two barrier islands near Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel Island, were cut off after the storm damaged causeways.

In Fort Myers, a handful of restaurants and bars reopened on Friday, giving an illusion of normalcy amid downed trees and shattered storefronts.

Dozens of people sat out on terraces under a bright sun, drinking beer and eating.

Dylan Gamber, 23, said he had been waiting for two hours at a pizzeria to get food to bring home.

“It was kind of bad, but we made it through,” he said. “The roof of our house came off, a big tree collapsed across our vehicles, our yard was flooded, but other than that we were pretty good.”

“As a community, we seem to be coming together and helping each other out.”

– ‘All submerged’ –

In nearby Bonita Springs, Jason Crosser, 37, was inspecting the damage to his store.

“The water went over the whole building,” Crosser said. “It was all submerged. It’s all saltwater and water damage.”

After making landfall in South Carolina, Ian is expected to weaken fast and dissipate by Saturday night.

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island’s power network.

Electricity was gradually returning, but many homes remain without power.

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say — including with Ian.

According to a rapid and preliminary analysis, human-caused climate change increased the extreme rain that Ian unleashed by over 10 percent, US scientists said.

The Osceola County Sheriff's department uses a boat as they urge residents to leave the flooded Good Samaritan Society Village in Kissimmee, Florida

Rescue workers went door-to-door in Florida on Friday to assist survivors of Hurricane Ian as the Carolinas braced for the arrival of the Category 1 storm.

Ian, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the United States, left a trail of devastation across Florida and officials said they have received reports of at least 20 deaths in the southern state.

After weakening as it crossed over Florida, the storm regained strength over the Atlantic and is bearing down on the coast of South and North Carolina packing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (140 kilometers per hour), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

It warned Carolina residents that Ian could bring “life-threatening storm surge” of up to seven feet (two meters) and damaging winds.

The storm left hundreds of people in need of rescue in Florida, many trapped in flooded homes.

Governor Ron DeSantis said more than 1,000 rescuers were going “up and down the coastline” checking on residents.

“Rescue personnel have gone to more than 3,000 homes in the hardest hit areas, going door to door to check on the occupants of those residences,” he told reporters.

Helicopter crews also plucked people from the rooftops of homes inundated by floodwater while other rescues were made by boat.

DeSantis said the coastal town of Fort Myers where the hurricane made landfall on Wednesday afternoon, was “ground zero” but “this was such a big storm that there are effects far inland.”

Many people evacuated, but thousands chose to shelter in place. DeSantis said Florida officials had so far contacted 20,000 people who chose to stay.

DeSantis said that it was too early to give a death toll, and that concrete information about casualty numbers could be expected over several days.

State officials said there had been one confirmed death from the hurricane and at least 20 others had been reported but have not yet been confirmed as being due to the storm.

In addition, 17 migrants were missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, with one person found dead and nine others rescued, the Coast Guard said. Among them were four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

– ‘It was all submerged’ –

In Bonita Springs, Jason Crosser, 37, was inspecting the damage to his small store.

“The water went over the whole building. It was all submerged,” Crosser said. “It’s all saltwater and water damage.”

After making landfall in South Carolina, Ian is expected to weaken fast and dissipate by Saturday night.

Fort Myers, where Ian came ashore as a monster Category 4 storm, took much of the brunt, as streets became rivers and seawater poured into houses.

Dozens of boats moored in the marina were sunk while others were tossed onto downtown streets.

DeSantis described the destruction as a “500-year flood event.”

He said about 1.9 Florida residents remained without power on Friday. 

Two barrier islands near Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel Island, popular with vacationers, were essentially cut off when the storm damaged causeways to the mainland.

– Electricity returning in Cuba –

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island’s power network.

Electricity was gradually returning, but many homes remain without power.

Laura Mujica, 20, joined dozens of Cuban women gathered in the capital Havana on Thursday to demand electricity be restored.

“We took to the street, because we haven’t had electricity for several days and we are tired of it,” Mujica said. 

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say — including with Ian.

According to a rapid and preliminary analysis, human-caused climate change increased the extreme rain that Ian unleashed by over 10 percent, US scientists said.

An aerial picture taken on September 29, 2022 shows a big washed up boat sitting in the middle of a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida

US forecasters expect Hurricane Ian to unleash life-threatening conditions on the Carolina states on Friday after causing devastation in Florida, where it killed at least 12 people with the toll expected to rise.

After weakening across land, Ian regained its Category 1 status in the Atlantic Ocean, the US National Hurricane Center said, predicting up to seven feet (two meters) of storm surge as it slams into the South Carolina coast by afternoon.

The storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the United States, left hundreds of people in need of rescue in Florida.

State Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday described the coastal Fort Myers area as “ground zero,” adding “but this was such a big storm that there are effects far inland.”

Many people evacuated, but thousands chose to shelter in place. DeSantis said Florida officials had so far contacted 20,000 people who chose to stay.

At least 12 people have been confirmed dead, according to local officials, the majority of them in Charlotte county.

DeSantis has warned that it was too early to give a death toll, and that concrete information about casualty numbers could be expected over several days. 

The NHC has issued a hurricane warning for South Carolina’s entire coast, as well as portions of Georgia and North Carolina.

– ‘Horrifying sounds’ –

Ian then is set to weaken fast and “dissipate near the North Carolina/Virginia border by Saturday night,” the NHC said.

Fort Myers, where Ian came ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday, took much of the brunt, as streets became rivers and seawater poured into houses.

Dozens of boats moored in the marina were sunk while others were tossed onto downtown streets.

DeSantis described the destruction as a “500-year flood event.”

Tom Johnson of Fort Myers had a front row seat for the chaos from his apartment on the second floor of a two-story harbourside building.

“I was scared because I’ve never been through that,” the 54-year-old told AFP. “It was just the most horrifying sounds with debris flying everywhere, doors flying off.”

His home was undamaged but one of his neighbors, Janelle Thil, was not so lucky and had to ask other residents for help after her ground floor apartment began to flood.

“They got my dogs and then I jumped out of the window and swam,” the 42-year-old said.

When Thil returned to her apartment after the storm passed, she said she opened the door and “had to wait about five minutes for all the floodwaters to come out.”

“I loved my home,” she said. “But I’m alive and that’s what matters.”

A US Coast Guard official said helicopter crews were plucking people from the rooftops of homes inundated by floodwaters.

– Millions without power –

Seventeen migrants were missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, with one person found dead and nine others rescued, the Coast Guard said. Among them were four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

Much of Florida’s southwest coast was plunged into darkness after the storm wiped out power.

Tracking website PowerOutage.us said two million homes and businesses remained without electricity in the Sunshine State on Friday.

Two barrier islands near Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel Island, popular with vacationers, were essentially cut off when the storm damaged causeways to the mainland.

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island’s power network.

Electricity was gradually returning, but many homes remain without power.

Laura Mujica joined dozens of Cuban women gathered in the capital Havana on Thursday to demand electricity be restored in the city.

“We took to the street, because we haven’t had electricity for several days and we are tired of it. 

“We women decided to take to the streets to empower ourselves and protest so that the electricity will be fixed,” said the 20-year-old.

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say — including with Ian.

According to a rapid and preliminary analysis, human-caused climate change increased the extreme rain that Ian unleashed by over 10 percent, US scientists said.

Tanzania has historically allowed indigenous communities such as the Maasai to live within some national parks, including the famed Ngorongoro conservation area

A regional court on Friday ruled that Tanzania’s decision to cordon off land for wildlife protection was legal, dealing a blow to Maasai pastoralists who had protested the move, two lawyers for the community said.

The nomadic community in Loliondo in the northern district of Ngorongoro has accused the government of trying to force them off their ancestral land in order to organise safaris and hunting expeditions.

But the government has rejected the accusations, claiming it wants to “protect” 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles) of the area from human activity.

After several postponements, the Arusha-based East African Court of Justice upheld the government’s decision, a lawyer for the Maasai told AFP.

“Unfortunately, the court ruled against us,” Esther Mnaro said.

“They have delivered a very impugned judgement,” another lawyer, Yonas Masiaya, told AFP.

The Maasai had asked the court to “stop the evictions, the arrest, detention or persecution” of their members and demanded a billion Tanzanian shillings ($430,000) as damages.

The three-judge bench said no compensation was due, Mnaro said.

They “decided that there… was no loss of property and none of these people were injured during the evictions, but our evidence and our witnesses had said totally different things.”

Mnaro said the community would decide whether to appeal.

There was no immediate reaction to the ruling from the government, which had previously argued that the Arusha court did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Tensions have soared in recent months with violent clashes breaking out in June in Loliondo between police and Maasai demonstrators.

More than two dozen Maasai protesters were charged with murder over the death of a policeman in the clashes.

– Population growth –

Tanzania has historically allowed indigenous communities such as the Maasai to live within some national parks, including the Ngorongoro conservation area, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

But the authorities say their growing population is encroaching on wildlife habitat and began moving the pastoralists out of Ngorongoro in June, calling it a voluntary relocation.

The relocation has sparked concern, with a team of UN-appointed independent rights experts warning in June that “it could jeopardise the Maasai’s physical and cultural survival.”

Since 1959, the number of humans living in Ngorongoro has shot up from 8,000 to more than 100,000.

The livestock population has grown even more quickly, from around 260,000 in 2017 to over one million today.

As climate change leads to prolonged droughts and low crop yields, pressure on the pastoralists has increased, forcing them into conflict with wildlife over access to food and water.

In 2009, thousands of Maasai families were moved out of Loliondo to allow an Emirati safari company, Ortelo Business Corporation, to organise hunting expeditions there. 

The government cancelled that deal in 2017, following allegations of corruption.

The East Africa Court of Justice came into force in 2001 to ensure adherence to the laws establishing the seven-nation East African Community bloc, made up of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Hurricane Ian left much of coastal southwest Florida in darkness early on Thursday

Climate change increased the rainfall from Hurricane Ian by more than 10 percent, according to a new quick-fire analysis, as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States devastated parts of Florida. 

Ian “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history”, President Joe Biden said after the storm brought ferocious winds, turned streets into churning rivers that swept away homes and left an unknown number of casualties. 

According to a rapid and preliminary analysis, human-caused climate change increased the extreme rain that Ian unleashed by over 10 percent, US scientists said.

“Climate change didn’t cause the storm but it did cause it to be wetter,” said Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Michael Wehner, one of the scientists behind the new finding. 

The researchers compared simulations of today’s world — which has warmed nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times — with counterfactual simulations of a world without human-induced climate change. 

Wehner said these were “conservative estimates”, adding that while they are not peer reviewed, they are based on methods used in a study on the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which was published in April in the journal Nature Communication.

Climate change from emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases is warming the ocean’s surface and increasing moisture in the atmosphere that fuels hurricanes. 

Although the total number of tropical storms, or cyclones, may not increase, scientists say warming is whipping up more powerful cyclones with stronger winds and more precipitation.

“Human-caused climate change is affecting hurricanes in many ways including causing them to intensify faster, be stronger overall, and dump a lot more rain,” tweeted climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who was not involved in the research. 

For each degree Celsius of warming, scientists expect the water in the atmosphere to increase by around seven percent.  

But Wehner said that his research found that storms are “more efficient” at turning the available moisture into rainfall.

Ian swept across Cuba on Tuesday, downing the country’s power network, before slamming into the Florida coast on Wednesday as a strong Category 4 hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center said Thursday the now Category 1 storm is expected to bring “life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds” to the Carolinas.

Poland and Germany have long been at odds over the disaster

Germany said Friday that mass fish deaths in the Oder river were a “man-made environmental disaster”, blaming toxic algae growth sparked by the introduction of salt into the waters.

Presenting a report into the disaster that saw at least 300 tonnes of dead fish pulled from the river in Germany and Poland this summer, the German environment ministry said the most likely cause was “a sudden increase in salinity”.

The “introduced salt” led to “massive proliferation of a brackish water algae that is toxic to fish”, it said.

However, “due to a lack of available information, the experts had to leave open what caused the unnaturally high salt content”, it added.

German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said it was clear that “human activity” was to blame.

Polish authorities had on Thursday released a separate report that also blamed toxic algae for the fish deaths.

But the Polish report said the disaster had most likely been caused by poor water quality as a result of high temperatures and very low water levels over the summer.

Poland and Germany have long been at odds over the disaster.

Berlin initially accused Warsaw of failing to communicate the problem, while Poland slammed Germany for spreading “fake news” about the discovery of herbicides and pesticides in the water.

A report in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine on Friday accused Polish authorities of failing to cooperate with their German counterparts to investigate the fish deaths.

Polish authorities became “more and more reserved, in some cases almost secretive”, Lilian Busse, the head of the investigation, was cited as saying.

The Spiegel report said Greenpeace investigations had shown high salt levels at a copper mine in the city of Glogow may have contributed to the disaster.

“It is obvious to me that the Polish government wants to cover up the causes of the fish kill in the Oder,” Ralph Lenkert, environmental policy spokesman for the far-left Die Linke party, told the magazine.

Fort Myers in Florida, where Ian made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, took much of the brunt of the storm

Forecasters expect Hurricane Ian to cause life-threatening storm surges in the Carolinas on Friday after unleashing devastation in Florida, where it left a yet unknown number of dead in its wake.

After weakening across Florida, Ian regained its Category 1 status in the Atlantic Ocean and was headed toward the Carolinas, the US National Hurricane Center said Friday.

“Flooding rains (are) likely across the Carolinas and southwestern Virginia,” the NHC added.

The storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the United States, left hundreds of people in need of rescue in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said, warning it was too early to get a clear picture of the death toll.

“We absolutely expect to have mortality from this hurricane,” he said Thursday.

DeSantis said concrete information about casualty numbers could be expected “in the coming days.” 

President Joe Biden, after a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters, said “this could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history.”

The numbers “are still unclear, but we’re hearing reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” he said Thursday.

Biden later declared an emergency in South Carolina, ordering federal assistance in response efforts, according to a White House statement.

The NHC has issued a hurricane warning for the entire coast of South Carolina as well as portions of Georgia and North Carolina.

Ian would likely make landfall on Friday, the NHC said, and then “rapidly weaken over the southeastern United States late Friday into Saturday.”

– ‘Horrifying’ –

Fort Myers, where Ian came ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday, took much of the brunt, as streets became rivers and seawater poured into houses.

Dozens of boats moored in the marina were sunk while others were tossed onto downtown streets.

DeSantis described the destruction in the southwest part of his state as a “500-year flood event.”

“We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude,” he said.

Tom Johnson of Fort Myers had a front row seat to the destruction from his apartment on the second floor of a two-story harbourside building.

“I was scared because I’ve never been through that,” the 54-year-old told AFP. “It was just the most horrifying sounds with debris flying everywhere, doors flying off.”

His home was undamaged but one of his neighbors, Janelle Thil, was not so lucky and had to ask other residents for help after her ground floor apartment began to flood.

“They got my dogs and then I jumped out of the window and swam,” the 42-year-old said.

When Thil returned to her apartment after the storm passed, she said she opened the door and “had to wait about five minutes for all the floodwaters to come out.”

“I loved my home,” she said. “But I’m alive and that’s what matters.”

A US Coast Guard official said Thursday that helicopter crews were plucking people from the rooftops of homes inundated by floodwaters.

Eighteen migrants were missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, though nine others had been rescued, the Coast Guard said. Among them were four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

– ‘Major disaster’ –

Much of Florida’s southwest coast was plunged into darkness after the storm wiped out power.

Tracking website PowerOutage.us said 2.1 million homes and businesses remained without electricity in the Sunshine State on Friday.

Two barrier islands near Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel Island, popular with vacationers, were essentially cut off when the storm damaged causeways to the mainland.

Sanibel got “hit with really biblical storm surge,” DeSantis said, and rescuers were using boats and helicopters to evacuate residents who rode out the storm.

Biden has declared a “major disaster” in Florida, a move that frees up federal funding for storm relief.

“I want the people of Florida to know that we will be here at every step of the way,” he tweeted.

– Cuba power out –

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island’s power network.

Electricity was gradually returning Thursday, but many homes remain without power.

Laura Mujica joined dozens of Cuban women gathered in the capital Havana on Thursday to demand electricity be restored in the city.

“We took to the street, because we haven’t had electricity for several days and we are tired of it. 

“We women decided to take to the streets to empower ourselves and protest so that the electricity will be fixed,” said the 20-year-old.

At least two people died in Pinar del Rio province, state media in the country of more than 11 million reported.

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say.

The informal talks in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa come ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt from November 6-18

Environment ministers from some 50 countries gather in DR Congo on Monday for the pre-COP27 climate talks, with rich countries expected to come under pressure to contribute more to fight global warming.

The informal talks in the central African country’s capital Kinshasa come ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, from November 6-18.

Ministers and other delegates are expected to discuss points that could lead to impediments at the main summit.

But no formal announcements are expected at the pre-COP27 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s climate negotiator Tosi Mpanu Mpanu told AFP.

A Western diplomat, who requested anonymity, said that since the COP and pre-COP are both being held in Africa “the emphasis will certainly be on support from industrialised countries to countries in the south”.  

The theme was also present during the 2021 COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, which ended with a pledge to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees centigrade compared to pre-industrial levels.

Poorer countries had pushed for a mechanism that would account for damages caused by climate change. But wealthier nations — the largest polluters — rejected the call and the participants agreed instead to open a “dialogue” on financing damages. 

Egypt — which holds the presidency of the 27th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) — has said it wants to make the latest summit about implementation.  

The pre-COP27 summit in Kinshasa ends on Wednesday. 

– Forest protection –

The DRC is expected to drive home the message that it is a country that can provide solutions for climate change during the talks.

Roughly the size of Western Europe, the DRC has 160 million hectares (395 million acres) of rainforest that acts as a carbon sink. 

It also has huge reserves of minerals such as cobalt and lithium, which are deemed critical for the transition to renewable energy because of their use in battery production.

Kinshasa is asking for more funding to protect its rainforests, which are currently threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture as well as logging for charcoal production. 

“The more resources we have at our disposal, the more climate action we can put in place,” said Congolese negotiator Mpanu Mpanu. 

Ahead of the pre-COP27 summit, the government organised a scientific conference at the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve in the forested northeast. It ended with scientists urging the international community to “support all initiatives” to protect the rainforest. 

However, the demand comes after the government put 30 oil and gas blocks up for auction in July — ignoring warnings from green activists that drilling could harm rainforests and peat lands and release vast amounts of heat-trapping gas.

Around 30 billion tonnes of carbon are stored across the Congo Basin, researchers estimated in a study for Nature in 2016. The figure is roughly equivalent to three years’ of global emissions.

The DRC, one of the poorest countries in the world, argues that drilling for oil and gas could help diversify its economy and benefit the Congolese people.