BRADENTON, Fla. — Pictures posted by the Bradenton Police Department show the damage left behind after Hurricane Ian slammed into the west coast of Florida on Tuesday.
The pictures show downed trees littering the streets, parts of buildings collapsed and boats that were overturned in the wind.
One even shows a sign at a gas station that was flipped upside down.
Damage in Bradenton after Hurricane Ian
The department asked for residents to be patient as crews work to clear debris.
Hurricane Ian devastated areas of southwest Florida when it swept through on Wednesday, causing catastrophic flooding, storm surge and wind damage.
It made landfall as a Category 4 storm around 3:05 p.m. along the southwestern coast of Florida near Cayo Costa, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, with even higher gusts.
At 4:35 p.m., Ian made a second landfall — a mainland landfall — south of Punta Gorda as a Category 4 storm packing 145-mph winds.
Lee, Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties are among the hardest hit, with widespread damage.
High speed winds and flooding have caused untold destruction in Fort Myers Beach in Lee County in particular. Video from the beach shows it was "leveled" by the storm.
President Biden has ordered federal aid to supplement the state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the storm. This comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis made the request Wednesday, according to his office.
Declaring it a major disaster, funding is made available to affected individuals in the counties of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota.
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