People trapped, 2.5 mn without power as Ian drenches Florida

St Petersburg: Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction across Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, cutting off the only bridge to a barrier island, destroying a historic waterfront pier and knocking out power to 2.5 million people as it dumped rain over a huge area on Thursday.

Catastrophic flooding was threatened around the state as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States crossed the peninsula.

Ian's tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 415 miles (665 km), drenching much of Florida and the southeastern Atlantic coast.

It crushed us, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told ABC's Good Morning America .

He said roads and bridges remained impassable, stranding thousands in the county where Ian made landfall just north of Fort Myers. We still cannot access many of the people that are in need.

Authorities confirmed at least one storm death in Florida a 72-year-old man in Deltona who fell into a canal while using a hose to drain his pool in the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

Two people died in Cuba after Ian struck there.

Marceno said that while he lacked any details, he believed the death toll would be in the hundreds .

Gov. Ron DeSantis later said that toll was not confirmed and was likely an estimate based on 911 calls.

President Joe Biden formally issued a disaster declaration on Thursday, and Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the agency is supporting search and rescue efforts.