After Hurricane Ian struck Florida, and North and South Carolina, its remnants drifted north on Sunday and were expected to dump rain on parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and southern Pennsylvania, according to the National Hurricane Center.
On Wednesday, the storm struck Florida’s Gulf Coast, and on Friday, it thrashed waterfront Georgetown, north of the historic city of Charleston in South Carolina.
As of 11 p.m. ET Sunday, more than 650,000 people in Florida were without power. At least 61 people were killed in the storm in Florida.
President Joe Biden has approved a disaster declaration, making federal resources available to counties impacted by the storm. He also declared an emergency in North Carolina on Saturday.
“We’re just beginning to see the scale of that destruction. It’s likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history,” he said.
Meanwhile, insurers are bracing for a massive hit in claims related to Ian. Which are expected to be the largest storm-related losses in Florida’s history.
“In nominal dollars, Hurricane Ian will be the largest hurricane loss in Florida history,” Karen Clark wrote in its report.
“The total economic damage will be well over $100 billion, including uninsured properties, damage to infrastructure, and other cleanup and recovery costs.”
