Another hurricane hits Florida

Quebecers who have just seen the damage caused by the hurricane Ian They feared for their lives after the hurricane passed by their home in Florida Nicole Wednesday through Thursday overnight.

“That’s enough belowThank goodness we didn’t sleep much,” said Louis LaPierre, confined with his spouse to the condo they rented in Daytona Beach while their home was being remodeled.
The Category 1 hurricane made landfall early morning about 200 yards south of Vero Beach, according to a 3 a.m. bulletin from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

An hour later, it was classified as a tropical cyclone, with strong winds increasing to 120 to 110 km/h.

“We woke up at five in the morning, the winds were rattling the patio doors. We had to wear towels because the water was coming at the full door,” said Ms. Lapierre, who lives in Saint-Eustache.

“We couldn’t block the door, it was blown open by the force of the wind,” added her spouse, Mark Parent.

A snowbird couple has seen their Florida home for the first time in recent weeks, which has been under renovation due to hurricane damage. IanWhen they were safe in Quebec.

“It is still uninhabitable. We have to put in dryers, remove gypsum, floating floors, kitchen cabinets,” lists Louis Lapierre.

Still confined to their compound, the couple couldn’t see the list after the passing Nicole. But the neighbors said it was okay.

Big loss

In the surrounding areas, the storm caused significant damage. Houses were leveled and their structures collapsed.

Further south, in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale, waves several feet high flooded streets near the ocean. Part of the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea wooden pier collapsed.

“The cars had water up to the doors and couldn’t move forward,” testified Laurent Kochenberger, who returned to his trailer in Hallandale.

Florida’s governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties at the same time.

He said that 16,000 people have been mobilized to deal with power cuts and 600 National Guard personnel have been put on alert.

– with AFP