How Hurricane Ian pounded Florida – a storm that will be talked about ‘for many years to come’

Top points as Hurricane Ian pounds Florida:

1. The hurricane was dubbed “extremely dangerous” and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said its eye made landfall just after 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) on the barrier island of Cayo Costa, west of the city of Fort Myers.
2. Television footage showed floodwaters entering beachfront homes, submerging roads and sweeping away vehicles in the coastal city of Naples. Some localities in Fort Myers turned into lakes.
3. The hurricane carried maximum sustained winds of 150 miles (240 kilometres) per hour at the time of landfall. The storm later weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and packed winds of 90 miles per hour.
4. As per estimates, the hurricane left over two million people without power in Florida Wednesday evening.
5. The impact of Hurricane Ian was also expected in the southeastern states of Georgia and South Carolina as well.
6. In a tragedy, 20 migrants went missing after their boat sank amid the storm. The US Border Patrol said four Cubans managed to swim to shore in the Florida Keys islands while the coast guard rescued three others.
7. Forecasters earlier issued warnings of a once-in-a-generation calamity. "This is going to be a storm we talk about for many years to come. It's a historic event," National Weather Service director Ken Graham was quoted as saying.
8. The authorities had evacuated some 2.5 million people from a dozen coastal Florida counties. For those who decided to stay put or could not flee in time, authorities asked them to hunker down and stay indoors.
9. All commercial flights were cancelled at airports in Tampa and Orlando, while cruise ships delayed departures or cancelled voyages.
10. Authorities warned of "a life-threatening situation" and said storm surges could reach devastating levels of 12 to 18 feet (3.6 to 5.5 meters). There were also forecasts for up to 30 inches (76 centimetres) of rain in parts of the so-called Sunshine State.
11. Hurricane Ian pounded Cuba and plunged the entire Latin American country into darkness a day earlier. It hit Cuba as a Category 3 storm. At least two deaths were reported in Cuba.