Washington [US], October 1: Ian made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the coast of the southeastern U.S. state of South Carolina on Friday afternoon.
The landfall occurred at 2:05 p.m. ET (1805 GMT) near Georgetown, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an update.
Life-threatening storm surges, damaging winds, and flash flooding are lashing South Carolina and North Carolina.
Ian made landfall in southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon, bringing catastrophic storm surges, heavy rains and destructive winds, and dangerous flooding to both coast and inland areas.
Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told reporters on Friday that there have been 21 deaths reported so far in the state due to Ian.
U.S. President Joe Biden said from the White House on Friday afternoon that Hurricane Ian "is likely to rank among the worst in the nation's history."
"We're just beginning to see the scale of that destruction," Biden added. "It's going to take months, years to rebuild."
Source: Xinhua
