AT LEAST 23 DEAD IN FLORIDA

WITH TROPICAL STORM IAN

The authorities of this State confirmed Friday evening a new toll of 23 victims, most of them by drowning and in their vast majority of the elderly.

Some American media evoke an even heavier human toll, the CNN television channel evoking 45 deaths.

After ravaging Florida, Ian headed for South Carolina, where it made landfall on Friday afternoon near Georgetown as a Category 1 hurricane, accompanied by winds of up to 140 km/h , according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

It then weakened into a post-tropical storm. On Saturday morning, its winds were only blowing at about 50 km / h when it crossed North Carolina, noted the NHC.

Although the risk of downpours and “moderate” flooding remains in the central Appalachian and northeastern United States area, Ian “is expected to dissipate over south-central Virginia” overnight. Saturday, the center predicted.

President Joe Biden has urged residents to heed calls for caution from local authorities. In South Carolina, they had notably urged the population not to drive on the roads invaded by water.

“It's a dangerous storm that will bring high winds and lots of water, but the most dangerous thing will be human error. Be smart, make good decisions, check in on loved ones and stay safe,” Governor Henry McMaster tweeted.

Some 575,000 homes and businesses were already without power Friday evening in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, according to the specialized site PowerOutage.

“Historic” damage in Florida

In Florida, in addition to the heavy human toll, the material damage is "historic", the level reached by the rising waters having been unprecedented, according to Governor Ron DeSantis.

Streets and homes were flooded and boats moored in marinas were tossed onto land by the storm. On Friday, in Kissimmee, not far from Orlando, the authorities crossed the flooded areas in boats to rescue residents trapped in their homes.

The only road leading to the Matlacha neighborhood of Fort Myers, Florida was damaged when Ian passed.

In this state, "we are just beginning to see the extent of the destruction", "likely to rank among the worst" in the history of the United States, said Joe Biden during a speech. “It will take months, years to rebuild,” he lamented.

As of Friday evening, more than 1.4 million customers remained without power there two days after Ian passed through, according to PowerOutage.

According to initial estimates, the passage of Hurricane Ian could cost insurers tens of billions of dollars and will weigh on American growth, in particular due to flight cancellations and damage to agricultural production.