Hurricane Ian swept southwest Florida, causing massive flooding that destroyed thousands of homes and left an estimated 2 million people without power.
The storm was one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the United States, with sustained winds near 150 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Before and after images of the affected area show the scale of the damage.
Storm ‘doing a number’ in Florida – Hurricane Ian live update
1. Estero Island
These screenshots are from video shot northwest on the main road on Estero Island, a resort area south of the city of Fort Myers.
A huge storm surge caused massive flooding in southwest Florida, including this beachfront area of Estero Island. Image: loniarchitects via Instagram
The image on the left was shared on Instagram just as the storm started to hit. Among them, the road was flooded, but the swimming pool and parking lot remained unchanged.
But in the photo on the right, posted two hours later, the pool and parking lot were completely submerged. The car also appeared to be floating in the flood.
In the image on the left, the parking lot is clear, but it’s completely submerged in the image shared two hours later. Image: loniarchitects via Instagram
The second comparison shows more clearly the level of flooding in the nearby parking lot.
2. Sanibel Island
This time-lapse footage shows a similar scene on Sanibel Island, a few miles to the west.
It was captured by traffic cameras on Changchunhua Road on the island early yesterday afternoon. Despite being nearly a mile inland, the street was engulfed by rising water within 30 minutes.
3. Naples Pier
The coastal city of Naples, about 40 miles to the south, was also severely affected.
This webcam captures Naples Marina Beach after the hurricane hit.
Slide the marker over the image below to see how the beach looked yesterday compared to three days ago.
4. Naples Fire and Rescue Headquarters
The image on the left is taken from a video shared by the Naples Fire Service showing the situation in the city itself.
Flooding can be seen outside this fire station building in the city of Naples.Image: Naples Fire Department
The bushes outside the building were almost completely submerged in several feet of water.
In another screenshot, we can see that the red water pipe located to the left of the vehicle’s entrance is also underwater.
The area outside the fire department building was in several feet of water.Image: Naples Fire Department
5. Naples Park Shore Drive
Another video, taken by the Naples Fire and Rescue Brigade, shows a driver being rescued from being trapped in his car due to rising floodwaters.
The entire road was completely flooded and one driver was trapped in his car.Image: Naples Fire and Rescue Service
The photo on the right, taken from a Google Maps image taken in June, shows the scale of the storm surge.
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