Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida, causing massive flooding, destroying thousands of homes and leaving an estimated two million people without power.
The storm is one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States, with sustained winds near 150 mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Before and after images of the affected areas show the extent of the destruction.
Storm ‘does a number’ in Florida – Hurricane Ian Live Updates
The city of Fort Myers and its surrounding islands were among the first affected by Hurricane Ian when it made landfall at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
These images are from video taken facing northwest on Estero Boulevard, which is a resort area just south of the city of Fort Myers.
The image on the left was shared on Instagram just as the storm started to hit. In this one, there is flooding in the road but the swimming pool and the parking lot remain intact.
But on the plan on the right, posted barely two hours later, the swimming pool and parking lot are completely submerged. Cars also appear to be floating in the deluge.
A second comparison shows more clearly the extent of the flooding in the nearby parking lot.
This time-lapse footage shows a similar scene on Sannibel Island, located a few miles to the west.
The footage was captured by a traffic camera early yesterday afternoon local time as the storm approached. In just 30 minutes, the street was engulfed by rising floodwaters.
The coastal city of Naples, located about 40 miles to the south, was also badly affected.
This webcam captured the scene at the beach near the Naples pier after the hurricane hit.
Drag the marker over the image below to see what the beach looked like yesterday compared to three days ago.
These images taken from a video shared by Naples firefighters show the situation in the city itself.
The bushes just outside the building are almost completely submerged in several feet of water.
The red water pipes just to the left of the vehicle entrance are also under water.
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