The National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday that Hurricane Ian made landfall over southwestern Florida a little after 3 p.m. The hurricane made landfall as a Category 4 storm, with winds approaching Category 5 status. Officials said a storm surge of up to 18 feet could be seen in some areas. Here are photos from Ian’s landfall and subsequent flooding:
Just before the Sanibel Causeway, a spiral staircase was deposited in the brush next to a white pickup as Hurricane Ian passed the area Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Sanibel, Fla. Hurricane Ian has left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
An airplane overturned by a likely tornado produced by the outer bands of Hurricane Ian is shown, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Waves crash along the Ballast Point Pier ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian’s most damaging winds have begun hitting Florida’s southwest coast as the storm approaches landfall. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Robert and Donna Antognoni work to secure a tarp ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Saint Petersburg, Fla. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian’s most damaging winds have begun hitting Florida’s southwest coast as the storm approaches landfall. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Kings Point residents leave with their belongings after an apparent overnight tornado spawned from Hurricane Ian in Delray Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)Kings Point resident Maria Esturilho is escorted by her son Tony Esturilho as they leave behind the damage from an overnight tornado spawned from Hurricane Ian in Delray Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)Cars damaged from the tornado at Kings Point 55+ community in Delray Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)A truck pulls a man on a kayak on a low-lying road after flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, in Key West, Fla., Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Martin)A man walks his dog through the rough surf on Cocoa Beach on September 28, 2022, as the eastern coast of central Florida braces for Hurricane Ian. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)A man carries his surf board through the rain on Cocoa Beach on September 28, 2022, as the eastern coast of central Florida braces for Hurricane Ian. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)A damaged sign sits on the side of state road I-275 as Hurricane Ian approaches on September 28, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Ian is hitting the area as a Category 4 hurricane. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)A tree is uprooted by strong winds as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on September 28, 2022, in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)A boat rocks in the waves in the Gulf of Mexico near Dunedin, Florida ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall on September 28, 2022. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)These images provided by the Naples Fire Rescue Department show firefighters looking out at the firetruck and retrieving gear after the storm surge from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in Naples, Fla. (Naples Fire Department via AP)Gusts from Hurricane Ian hit in Punta Gorda, Florida on September 28, 2022. (Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)A small boat is tied to a tree as Hurricane Ian approaches with heavy winds and rain on September 28, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)Wind gusts blow across Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on September 28, 2022, in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Authorities transport a person out of the Avante nursing home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on September 29 in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
An Orange County firefighter carries a person to safety while helping people stranded by Hurricane Ian early Thursday in Orange County, Fla. (Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office via AP)
