Hurricane Ian wrecked a mobile home park, but spared another across the street
FORT MYERS, Fla. — It was a tale of two mobile home parks Friday, just 200 yards apart.
On one side of Ortiz Avenue in this storm-ravaged city, residents of the Lazy J Mobile Home & RV Park returned to find that the trailers that are their homes had largely survived the wrath of Hurricane Ian, which killed more than a dozen people in Florida before leaving the state and barreling toward the Carolinas on Friday.
A few of the more than 150 or so trailers appeared to have some minor flooding and wind damage, but on the surface they looked mostly untouched.
The scene was far different on the other side of Ortiz Avenue, where residents of the Poinsettia Mobile Home Park were trying to salvage what they could from the wreckage left by a monstrous-but-fickle storm that rampaged through Fort Myers on Wednesday.
Protests in Cuba erupt after days without power following Hurricane Ian
Protests erupted in Cuba Thursday night as most of the island endured nearly three full days without power due the damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
Small groups of people took to the streets and banged on pots in different parts of Havana and other provinces throughout the island.
On Friday morning, the Energy and Mines Ministry said that 60% of the capital, Havana, and 88% of the Mayabeque province had power restored. But most of the country of about 11 million was still without electricity.
In the western part of the island, which took a direct hit Tuesday, Cuba’s power company is unable to say when the lights could be back on. Winds of 125 miles per hour ripped down thousands of electric poles, high tension towers and transformers.
‘It’s dangerous after the storm, too’: Officials detail safety, recovery efforts for Hurricane Ian
World Central Kitchen sees long lines in Florida, serves some 40,000 meals to communities affected by Ian
A nonprofit aid organization spearheaded by celebrity chef Jose Andres is preparing to "scale up" as Florida residents endure long lines for bottled water and fresh meals.
World Central Kitchen estimates it will soon have served some 40,000 meals through its pop-up kitchen in Tampa and plans are underway to open another location in Fort Myers, according to Fiona Donovan, the group's director of operations.
"The need here is huge," Donovan told MSNBC. "Families are displaced and don’t know when they are going to be able to return home."
World Central Kitchen has been on the ground since Monday and started serving meals Thursday. It is also offering meals and water to hospitals that have no power or running water.
"We are preparing to scale up," Donovan said. "Over the past two days, we have seen long lines of folks waiting for water, food. Everyone is coming to us."
Premature infants and other patients evacuated from Fort Myers arrive in Naples after escaping Ian
At least 24 evacuated patients from Lee Health — a hospital system in Fort Myers, Florida, that lost power and water due to the storm — have been transported to the NCH Healthcare System in Naples. Six of those patients are premature infants from the neonatal intensive care unit.
The patients began arriving Thursday evening and additional patients have arrived since then Friday, said Amanda Lucey, chief marketing officer at NCH. The hospital system is treating around 400 people in total and expects to receive up to 400 more patients in the coming days from Fort Myers, she said.
“We’re seeing an influx in emergency patients because you can imagine people are getting out to clean up the damage, and you’ll have people who have injuries as a result of the cleanup,” Lucey said.
The hospital system is under lockdown, meaning visitors are not allowed and it is not performing elective surgeries, but it is seeking blood donations. Lucey said NCH has had trouble disseminating information to the public due to widespread power outages and disrupted cell service.
“We’ve experienced a lot of crisis events over the years — most recently, Covid — but the storm surge and the impact and the devastation that it’s done to the community is heartbreaking,” she said.
Video shows a reporter pointing out an alligator in Orlando floodwaters following Hurricane Ian
Myrtle Beach mayor tells residents to stay inside as Ian slams South Carolina
The mayor of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has a stark message for residents in her coastal city of more than 35,000 people: Stay inside.
"Stay inside. I'm still seeing cars on the road. People need to stay inside. Stay safe. It's not worth the risk for you or for our first responders," Brenda Bethune said Friday in an interview with MSNBC.
Bethune issued her warning nearly an hour after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Georgetown, South Carolina, as a Category 1 storm.
Power goes out for more than 180,000 customers in South Carolina
More than 180,000 customers across South Carolina lost electricity after Hurricane Ian made landfall in the state, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that aggregates data from utilities.
The website showed that some 181,337 customers were without power as of 2:23 p.m. ET — about 20 minutes after Ian hit the state as a Category 1 storm.
Ian makes landfall in South Carolina
Ian made its second landfall, this time near Georgetown, South Carolina, as a Category 1 storm around 2:05 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm hit South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, it said in a statement.