A boat with at least 27 migrants sank on Wednesday off the coast of Florida during the passage of the powerful hurricane Ianleaving at least twenty missing, reported the United States police.
Border Patrol agents “responded to a migrant landing on Stock Island, Florida,” Miami chief Walter Slosar said on Twitter.
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“Four Cuban migrants swam to shore following their boat capsized due to inclement weather,” he added.
Later, the seventh division of the United States Coast Guard reported on its Twitter account the rescue of three people who were in the water “regarding two miles south of Boca Chica.”
“They were taken to the local hospital with symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration,” adds the tweet, which says that the search continues from the air and warns residents to avoid entering the sea.
The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the hurricane Ianconsidered “extremely dangerous”, had sustained winds of 225 km per hour and might cause “catastrophic” flooding.
Also: Shocking videos: the damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Ian in Florida.
Anxiety
The streets of Punta Gorda, in the south of the state, where some passers-by were still walking at noonemptied suddenly on Wednesday followingnoon, as the sky turned gray and the showers intensified, AFP journalists found.
Strong winds uprooted the branches of many palm trees in the center, shaking even power poles, when the cyclone was still regarding 40 kilometers from the city.
Also: Does Hurricane Ian pose a threat to Colombia?.
“The closer you get, obviously the anxiety with the unknown increases”observed Chelsea Thompson, 30, who was helping her parents secure their home in an evacuation zone southwest of Tampa.
In Naples, in southwestern Florida, images from the MSNBC channel showed completely flooded streets and cars floating in the current.
Storm surges might reach more than five meters on the coasts, according to the NHCwhile between 30 and 45 cm of precipitation is expected in central and northeast Florida, and up to 60 cm in other places.
“This is a storm that will be talked regarding for many years to come”said the director of the National Weather Service (NWS), Ken Graham, at a press conference.
In the morning, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, warned that Ian “It’s a very powerful hurricane that will have far-reaching consequences.”
Evacuation orders were issued overnight for a dozen coastal counties..
Deanne Criswell, head of Fema, the federal agency in charge of managing natural disasters, stated that Ian it would remain a “very dangerous” storm for “days to come”.
The authorities are preparing “for the historic and catastrophic effects that we are already beginning to see,” he stressed before Ian will hit the ground