Posted Sep 29, 2022, 8:16 AMUpdated on Sep 29, 2022 at 8:17 am
Powerful Hurricane Ian swept across Florida on Wednesday and its high winds and torrential rains have already caused widespread flooding and power outages. Carrying winds of up to 185 km/h, Ian made landfall along the coast of Cayo Costa, in the southwest of the state, at 3:05 p.m. local time (19:05 GMT), according to the National Center for American hurricanes (NHC).
The hurricane caused “catastrophic” flooding, the center said. Previously classified in category 3 – out of the 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale – Ian was downgraded to category 1 in the heart of the night, announced the NHC.
More than 2 million homes were without power Wednesday evening in Florida, mainly around the path of the hurricane, according to the specialized site PowerOutage. Several counties near where Ian made landfall were almost entirely without power, according to the site.
“One of the five strongest hurricanes to ever hit Florida”
The hurricane is then expected to move inland during the day, where it could cause significant damage as it reaches eastern Florida, and emerge over the western Atlantic by Thursday evening. according to the NHC. Governor Ron DeSantis said Wednesday evening that it would probably be “one of the five strongest hurricanes to ever hit Florida”.
“This is a storm that will be talked about for many years to come,” NWS Director Ken Graham said at a press conference. The director of Fema (the federal agency in charge of the management of natural disasters), Deanne Criswell, warned that Ian would continue to be a “very dangerous” storm in “the days to come”.
Global warming
As the surface of the oceans warms, the frequency of the most intense hurricanes, with stronger winds and greater precipitation, increases, but not the total number of hurricanes. According to Gary Lackmann, professor of atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University in the United States, several studies have demonstrated a “possible link” between climate change and a phenomenon known as “rapid intensification “.
It is a relatively weak tropical storm that strengthens into a Category 3 or higher hurricane within 24 hours, as was the case with Ian. “A consensus remains that there will be fewer storms in the future, but that the biggest ones will be more intense,” the scientist stressed.
Source: AFP
