Hurricane Ian's destruction of Florida caught live on webcams

Chaos caused by '500-year flooding event' streamed and viewed by millions around the world

Young residents react as a truck sprays water while driving past them on a street flooded due to Hurricane Ian, in Charleston, South Carolina, US. Reuters

An aerial image made with a drone shows flooding following Hurricane Ian in a neighbourhood in Orlando, Florida. EPA

A man tows a canoe through a flooded street in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. AFP

An aerial image made with a drone shows flooding near Orlando, Florida. EPA

University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they leave an apartment complex near campus that was flooded during the hurricane in Orlando, Florida. AP

Boats wrecked by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. AFP

Damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of the hurricane. AP Photo

A section of the Sanibel Causeway in Florida collapsed. AP Photo

Florida resident Brenda Brennan next to a boat that washed up against her harbourside home in Fort Myers. AFP

Cars submerged in a canal in the wake of Hurricane Ian. EPA

Rescuers evacuate residents from the Avante at Orlando nursing home in Florida, during floods caused by Hurricane Ian. AP

An Avante at Orlando resident is taken to safety. AP

A submerged sailing boat off Punta Gorda, Florida, after Hurricane Ian passed through. Reuters

The storm destroyed a section of the Sanibel Causeway that connects an island to the south-western mainland of Florida. AP

Damage caused at Fort Myers Beach, Florida. AP

Boats left in a pile at the Port Sanibel Marina Motel by the storm surge. AP

A vehicle partly submerged on a flooded driveway in Fort Myers. Bloomberg

The storm wrought havoc at this marina, damaging boats. AP

This sign in Bartow, Florida, was blown over by the hurricane. AFP

Tom Park begins cleaning up after Hurricane Ian moved through the Gulf Coast in Punta Gorda, Florida. AFP

A storm surge made some roads almost impassable in Fort Myers. AFP

A worker repairs energy lines during a power cut after Hurricane Ian stormed through Bartow, Florida. AFP

Vehicles make their way through a flooded area after Hurricane Ian tore across Fort Myers, bringing high winds, a storm surge and rain, causing severe damage. AFP

Boats are pushed up on to a causeway after Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers. Getty Images

A man walks through debris on a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida. The storm left much of coastal south-west state in darkness early on Thursday and brought 'catastrophic' flooding. AFP

A spiral staircase and a white pick-up truck are deposited in brushland after Hurricane Ian passed through Sanibel, Florida. AP

A section of the causeway leading to Sanibel was knocked out by Hurricane Ian. AP

Wind blasts across Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south in Florida. The storm made US landfall at Cayo Costa with wind speeds of more than 225 kilometres per hour. AFP

A flooded street in central Fort Myers. Reuters

More devastation in Fort Myers. Reuters

A man stands in the middle of 7th Street in Ybor City a few hours before the high winds hit Tampa. AP

Traffic lights were no match for Hurricane Ian's power in Fort Myers. Reuters

Debris strewn across a street in Fort Myers. Reuters

Bunting is torn from an awning in Sarasota. AFP

Brent Shaynore runs for cover. AFP

The St Pete pier in St Petersburg, Florida as Hurricane Ian hits. AFP

A man carries his belongings across the street in Ybor City, Tampa. Reuters

Hundreds of trees in the path of Hurricane Ian were uprooted in St Petersburg. AFP

Hurricane Ian intensified to just shy of the strongest Category 5 level, threatening to wreak havoc on the southern US state. AFP

A tree is uprooted by strong winds as Hurricane Ian churns to the south in Sarasota. AFP

Firefighters in Naples, Florida look out at their fire engine standing in water. AP

Even though there was a mandatory evacuation, some residents were either forced or chose to stay to ride out the storm. AP

A pickup truck pulls a man on a kayak on a low-lying road after flooding in aftermath of Hurricane Ian, in Key West, Florida. AP

A boat rocks in the Gulf of Mexico in Dunedin, Florida, before Hurricane Ian makes landfall on Wednesday. AFP

Gusts from Hurricane Ian hit in Punta Gorda, Florida. AP

Technicians monitor Hurricane Ian at Fema in Washington. AFP

Palm trees blow in the wind from Hurricane Ian in Sarasota, Florida. AFP

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre details the Hurricane Ian response. AFP

A vehicle drives through the wind and rain from Hurricane Ian in Sarasota, Florida. AFP

A police patrol drives around a neighbourhood of St Petersburg Beach as the wind from Hurricane Ian arrives in Florida. AFP

Empty grocery shop shelves at Aldi’s in Titusville, Florida, as the state's eastern coast braces for Hurricane Ian. AFP

The US National Hurricane Centre said on Friday that Hurricane Ian still poses a threat to lives along the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and urged residents to follow local advice.

Ian, which slammed into Florida's coastline on Wednesday, could cause a 500-year flooding event, the state's governor said on Thursday.

As Ian swept northwards, some of the thousands of live webcams that usually show the daily goings-on in towns and cities brought the unfolding chaos to an online audience.

Some cameras cut out when the severity of the hurricane, which was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday morning, became too much. At least one person has been killed.

“We’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude,” Florida governor Ron DeSantis said.

“The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event.”

Cassandra Woodson, a home maker from Atlanta, Georgia, shared a Google Map resource showing more than 2,800 livestreaming webcams, a number of which showed the unfolding danger.

“I started the map because I would watch live storm coverage during severe weather outbreaks and I was just curious about what it looked like in those places in real-time,” Ms Woodson, 32, told The National.

After starting in March, she shared the map on social media site Reddit, and received a good reception, so has continued adding public cameras she finds.

“I’m still to this day adding more cameras. Today, I’ve added 15 cameras in the Savannah and Charleston area because they are expecting Hurricane Ian to make a second landfall around there,” she said.

Ft Myers, Florida webcam

Fortt Myers was hit worst of all by the hurricane. Authorities say they are struggling to reach stranded people amid thousands of 911 calls. Many roads and bridges in the area are impassable due to flooding.

Emergency crews cut through fallen trees to unblock roads, but some people have been unable to even call for help due to electric and phone lines being down.

Officials said 23 people are missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized and sank off the coast of Stock Island, Florida.

Ms Woodson continued to post footage captured from the various webcams on her map to Twitter. One of those videos attracted more than one million views.

“With Hurricane Ian, the view that some of these live cameras had were just incredible and very unique,” she said.

“No storm chaser or news folks could get these shots themselves and so it just lent to getting some very intense video without being in harm's way.”

City of Sanibel webcam

A chunk of the Sanibel Causeway fell into the sea, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally

live. It was unknown how many had heeded orders to evacuate, but Charlotte County emergency management director, Patrick Fuller, expressed cautious optimism that worst-case scenarios might not have been realised.

The island's webcams captured the streets filling with water over a 30-minute period. Many are still running as the storm batters the area.

South of Sanibel Island, the historic beachfront pier in Naples was destroyed, with even the pilings underneath torn out, as towering waves crashed over the structure.

“Right now, there is no pier,” said Penny Taylor, a Collier County commissioner.

I-75 motorway webcam

Motorways also bore the brunt of the storm. A webcam on the I-75 captured winds buffeting the road.

Ian struck Florida as a monstrous Category 4 storm, with 241 kilometre an hour winds — the joint fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the US.

St Augustine webcam

Ms Woodson says she believes the cameras democratise viewing on big events, which is why she made her Google Map resource.

“I enjoy seeing things through the lens of a live camera without anything else attached and I believe others are probably the same way,” she said.

“So, if it’s weather, natural disasters or anything else for that matter, it’s nice to see these things live as they are happening, within the comfort of your own home.

“I want anyone who has an interest in seeing weather as it is happening to be able to do so.”