Hurricane Ian slowed to a Category 1 storm as it moved through Central Florida early on Thursday after making landfall earlier as a Category 4 and causing devastating storm surges, flooding and leaving more than 2 million homes and businesses without power across the state.
At least 2.36 million customers across the state don’t have power according to PowerOutage.us, with officials warning that restoration efforts could take several days or even weeks.
Eric Silagy, the CEO of the state’s largest utility provider, Florida Power & Light, called the storm “life-changing” and added that some sections of the damaged grid are beyond repair and need to be fully rebuilt.
As of 2 a.m. ET, the hurricane is moving through central Florida—55 miles southeast of Orlando—with sustained wind speeds of 75 miles per hour, according to an update by the National Hurricane Center.
Massive storm surges caused by the hurricane—which hit the Florida coast with sustained wind speeds of 150 miles per hour—has resulted in massive flooding in southwestern parts of the state, leaving many people stranded, according to the Associated Press.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-2-million-without-power-as-storm-strikes-florida/