Hurricane Ian: ‘Catastrophic’ damage in Florida as trapped residents are rescued

Biden says hurricane could ‘be deadliest in state’s history’ as storm regains strength and heads towards South Carolina

Firefighters in Orange County, Fla., help people stranded by Hurricane Ian early Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. Picture: Orange County Fire Rescue's Public Information Office via AP

The “catastrophic” scale of damage wreaked by Hurricane Ian’s 150mph deadly rampage across Florida became clearer on Thursday as emergency crews rescued trapped residents from flooded homes, and authorities expressed fears of a growing death toll.

As South Carolina braced for Ian to make a second landfall, search and rescue crews in south-west Florida conducted hundreds of missions in areas that were submerged by a storm surge of up to 18ft after one of the most powerful storms to strike the US swept ashore on Wednesday.