Hurricane Ian was a destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane. Widespread damage was caused across western Cuba and the southeast United States. On September 19, 2022, the hurricane started as a tropical wave located by the National Hurricane Center. The wave then went into the Caribbean Sea two days later, which brought heavy rain. On September 28, 2022, it progressed at a Category 4 strength and landed in southwest Florida, which is where it tied with other storms to be known as the 5th strongest hurricane to make a landing in the United States. After landing in Florida, it rapidly weakened to a tropical storm before it moved back into the Atlantic. The storm intensified into a hurricane and landed in South Carolina.

      Losses from Hurricane Ian are currently estimated at $50 billion dollars. The damage was mostly impacted from flooding. Millions of people have been left without power and several were forced to take refuge on their roofs. Major flooding occurred in Sanibel which has caused its causeway to collapse. Pine Island in Lee County, Florida, had major damage. The bridge to Fort Myers was leveled. Hurricane Ian caused a total of 130 fatalities, this includes 5 people in Cuba, 120 in Florida, and 5 in North Carolina. This data is as of October 5th, according to officials.  Hurricane Ian’s death makes it the 24th deadliest hurricane in US History. It’s known to be the deadliest hurricane to hit the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.