On September 28th, at 3:05 pm, Hurricane Ian made landfall a small ways away from Fort Myers, Florida. While it may have faded away, it left a trail of destruction so severe that thousands are left displaced and many left dead.

Hurricane Ian initially formed over the Central Caribbean Sea on the 23rd of September. After eventually making landfall at Cayo Costa, it moved up the east coast and eventually faded out around Virginia. Frederick, luckily, got light rain instead of a hurricane or tropical storm. 

That cannot be said about a Florida resident, who recounts how the storm impacted their community: “A lot of leaves and tree branches fell down in my place. I believe a lot of other areas where the hurricane really hit [experienced] some pretty bad flooding. [I’ve] never [gone] through something this big.”

Another Floridian explains how others were reacting: “I do have friends and family that are stocking up on water and making sure they have flashlights in case of a power outage”.

Initially, winds reached a staggering 150 mph, just short of category 5 status. The sheer power of these winds combined with feets of flooding, uprooted trees, and taking parts off of roofs. Homes and businesses have lost power, with the number of both being in the hundreds of thousands. The estimated value of the damages done is around $50 billion.

The death toll of Hurricane Ian has been steadily increasing as more people are found. Originally, the count was around in the mid 30’s. This then raised into the 60s, then the 70’s, the 80’s, and now the count has surpassed 100 and is around 120 to 130 deaths.

In response to all of the damage done, groups like the Red Cross have brought many people from across the country to help aid those who experienced the effects of the hurricane. Over 15,000 Red Cross members have been assisting people, and 26,000 survivors have been given temporary shelter.

While it’s important to talk about how the hurricane severely affected many people in the United States, it’s just as important to mention how other countries were affected recently by hurricanes. Puerto Rico, a country still trying to recover from Hurricane Fiona, is being somewhat overshadowed by Ian.

Fiona was another category 4 hurricane that left hundreds of thousands in the Caribbean without water, and even more without power. It was strong enough to cause a power outage across the entirety of Puerto Rico. Fortunately, the Biden administration is working to assist with the damage of both Hurricane Ian and Fiona.

If you can, check up on those who were affected. There are many organizations that dedicate themselves to relief efforts, and donations would be extremely helpful for them.