Stunning aerial pics reveal how deadly hurricane cut a swath through Florida

Stunning aerial photos lay bare the devastation Hurricane Ian left in its wake after it barreled through the Sunshine State, bringing windspeeds of up to 155mph and leaving communities flooded.

Ian came ashore with catastrophic force near Cape Coral Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 storm, knocking out power to more than 2.6 million residents within just a few hours.

It then cut a path from the southwest corner of the state to the east, before it went off-shore once again near Orlando as it once again gains speed on its way to South Carolina. 

Along the way, it brought a combination of wind, rain and storm surges that destroyed hundreds of homes, while closed roads and downed power lines made it impossible to escape Ian’s wrath.

Many communities were left flooded in the wake of the excruciatingly strong storm, with Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring it a ‘biblical 500-year flood event.’

In some areas, CNN reports, storm surges hit up to 12 feet on Wednesday, with a storm-surge warning — meaning that storm surges could be life-threatening — in place for a stretch of northeastern Florida into an area north of Charleston, South Carolina. 

Experts expect the damages to cost up to $260billion, though the clean-up efforts are currently unable to get underway as swathes of Florida remain underwater. 

Thousands remain trapped inside their homes, waiting desperately to be rescued, with some forced on to their roofs to escape rising floodwater that swallowed two-story homes.

National Guard crews are now traveling around the state looking for those who are still stranded or were reported missing in the aftermath of the storm.

But officials say they are only ‘scratching the surface,’ as hundreds are feared dead.

In southwest Florida, officials are already reporting that at least a dozen people have died as a result of the storm. 

CNN reports that one person who was in hospice care died in Osceola County, about five people are believed to have died in Lee County and six deaths were reported in Charlotte County.

Photos and videos from that area show buildings collapsed in the storm, power lines were down — and even a major bridge connecting Sanibel and Captiva’s islands to Florida’s mainland was destroyed.

In one video posted to Twitter by Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marcino, roads were completely obscured by feet-deep waters as smoke billowed from some of the homes that were destroyed.

‘We are devastated,’ he wrote. ‘Our hearts go out to every resident who is impacted.

‘The Lee County Sheriffs Office is mobile, and will stop at nothing to help our residents.’

Speaking to CNN afterwards, Marcino said ‘there’s really no words that I can say to tell you what I’ve seen.

‘The Fort Myers Beach area, buildings, major, major homes and buildings completely washed away with vehicles in the water, vehicles in the bay, boats are upside down,’ he said.

Meanwhile, the Naples area, just to the south, was slammed with feet of water that submerged streets, nearly swallowed vehicles and rushed into the first-floor of homes and businesses. 

Lehigh Acres, near Fort Myers, also reported 14.42 inches of rain, and in Orlando — which was hit last before the storm moved off-shore — eight to 12 inches of rain  had already fallen Thursday afternoon, though four more inches were expected.  

Meteorologists say some areas could have received more than 30 inches in the devastating storm.

Roads are now pictured littered with washed-out vehicles, debris from fallen homes and downed telephone poles.

‘Everybody’s garages basically just gave out,’ said Scott Carlos, who rode out the storm in his fourth-floor Fort Myers condo, where streets were flooded with nearly four feet of water.

‘Cars are everywhere,  smashed up in the street,’ he said. ‘There’s debris everywhere.’

In Naples, officials said on Wednesday that at least half the streets were impassable because of the high water levels as they tried to rescue people stuck inside their homes.

‘Some are reporting life-threatening medical emergencies in deep water. We will get to them first,’ the Collier County Sheriffs Office posted on Facebook Wednesday night. 

‘Some are reporting water coming into their house, but not life-threatening — they will have to wait possible until the water recedes.’

To make matters more complicated, Lee County’s 911 system went offline during the storm, and emergency calls were being rerouted to Collier County.

And in Sarasota County, sheriff’s deputies and fire crews had a backlog of more than 500 calls for help as of Thursday morning.

Deputies said they were ‘responding to the highest priority calls’ that were still in the queue Thursday morning. 

President Joe Biden has now declared a ‘major disaster declaration’ for the state, freeing up billions of dollars in assistance.

‘That means the federal government will cover 100 percent of the cost to clear debris and for all the cost the state has to engage in and expend to save lives,’ the president announced on Thursday.

‘The federal government will also cover the majority of the cost of rebuilding public buildings like schools and state fire stations.

‘And folks in Florida who have destroyed or damaged homes, [if] you don’t have enough insurance, it means the federal government will provide individual assistance of $37,900 for home repairs another $37,900 for lost property.’

At the same time, DeSantis’ wife, Casey, 42, pledged her commitment to removing obstacles for residents and businesses to receive funds to help them recover from the damage from the storm after Lee County Sheriff Marceno ‘confirmed’ that fatalities are ‘in the hundreds.’

‘The people across the state and the country have stepped up big to support our Florida Disaster Fund. So far, in less than 24 hours since we launched the fund, we’ve raised $1.6 million,’ Mrs. DeSantis announced.

She also said that she is in constant contact with those who will help distribute the funds and get it to people that need it.

‘Thank you for stepping up and please continue to do so,’ she said.