By Tyler Durden - September 29, 2022

Update (1000ET):

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Hurricane Tropical Storm Ian had produced a "500-year flood event" across Florida.

JUST IN: “The amount of water that’s been rising…is basically a 500-year flood event.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warns that there is a potential for major flooding “hundreds of miles” from where Hurricane Ian made landfall. https://t.co/23eIyeHVo4> pic.twitter.com/sjKifjqrty

— ABC News (@ABC) September 29, 2022

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Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm early Thursday morning as it traversed northeastward across central Florida, dumping torrential rain while still packing strong winds across a large swath of the state.

The former Category 4 hurricane made landfall Wednesday afternoon west of Fort Myers near Cayo Costa. Ian unleashed widespread life-threatening storm surge flooding across the region.

About 2.6 million homes and businesses are without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The most significant number of outages are based in the southwest Florida region, where the hurricane made landfall.

Shocking footage yesterday revealed the surge sent a wall of water roaring inland that was as high as some homes. Streets were instantly transformed into rivers. We pointed out last night that total storm damage could be upwards of $70 billion.

I'm sick to my stomach seeing these photos of the incredible storm surge that hit Fort Myers, Florida as the eye of Hurricane Ian moved onshore Wednesday.
Easily over 10 feet of water up to the roofs in some spots. pic.twitter.com/S6tViQf5Kv

— Eric Zernich (@EricZernich) September 29, 2022

[SNIP]