Dramatic before and after images show scale of Hurricane Ian’s destruction in Florida
Hurricane Ian has ripped through southwestern Florida, causing mass flooding, destroying thousands of homes and leaving an estimated two million people without power.
The storm is one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the United States, with sustained winds at almost 150mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Before and after images of the affected areas demonstrate the scale of the destruction.
Storm ‘doing a number’ on Florida – Hurricane Ian live updates
1. Estero Island
These screenshots are from videos filmed facing northwest on the main road of Estero Island, a resort area just south of Fort Myers city.
A huge storm surge has caused mass flooding across southwestern Florida, including at this seaside location on Estero Island. Pic: loniarchitects via Instagram
The image on the left was shared on Instagram just as the storm began to hit. In it, there is flooding in the road but the swimming pool and parking area remain untouched.
But in the right-hand shot, posted two hours after, the pool and car park are completely submerged. Cars also appear to float in the deluge.
In the image on the left, the car park is clear but it is completely submerged in the image shared just two hours later. Pic: loniarchitects via Instagram
A second comparison shows the extent of the flooding in the nearby car park more clearly.
2. Sanibel Island
This time-lapse footage shows a similar scene on Sanibel Island, a few miles to the west.
It was captured early yesterday afternoon by a traffic camera located on the island’s Periwinkle Way. Within 30 minutes, the street was engulfed by rising floodwaters, despite being nearly a mile inland.
3. Naples Pier
The coastal city of Naples, which is around 40 miles to the south, has also been severely affected.
This webcam captured the scene at the beach by Naples Pier after the hurricane hit.
Slide the marker across the image below to see what the beach looked like yesterday compared to three days ago.
4. Naples Fire and Rescue Headquarters
The left-hand image, taken from a video shared by the Naples Fire Department, show the situation in the city itself.
High floodwaters can be seen outside this fire department building in the city of Naples. Pic: Naples Fire-Rescue Department
The bushes just outside the building are almost entirely submerged in several feet of water.
In another screengrab, we can see that the red water pipes situated to the left of the vehicle entranceway are also underwater.
The area outside the fire department building is under several feet of water. Pic: Naples Fire-Rescue Department
5. Park Shore Drive, Naples
Another video captured by Naples Fire and Rescue shows the rescue of a driver trapped inside their car due to rising floodwater.
The entire road is completely flooded, trapping a driver inside their car. Pic: Naples Fire Rescue Department
The picture on the right, taken from Google Maps imagery captured in June, demonstrates the scale of the storm surge.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Read more from Sky News:
Kate’s ’emotional’ words for tearful tennis star
Music festival cancelled as headliner pulls out
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Who is being targeted in Trump’s immigration raids?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
Read more:
Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU
President threatens to revoke US comedian’s citizenship
Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike