People trapped, 2.5M without power as Ian drenches Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Ian has left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people. It’s now aiming for the Atlantic Coast as a tropical storm. One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. was barreling across the Florida peninsula overnight, threatening catastrophic flooding inland. In Port Charlotte, the storm surge flooded a lower-level emergency room in a hospital as winds tore off part of the roof of its intensive care unit. Staff evacuated those patients — some on ventilators — to other floors.

Hurricane Ian strikes Florida hospital from above and below

Hurricane Ian has swamped a four-story Florida hospital from both above and below, according to a doctor who works there. The storm surge flooded its lower level emergency room on Wednesday, while fierce winds tore away part of the roof from the fourth-floor intensive care unit. Dr. Birgit Bodine spent the night at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, anticipating the storm would make things busy. But, she says, she didn’t anticipate that the roof would blow off on the fourth floor. The damage forced patients into just two of the floors. Bodine plans to spend another night at the hospital, when incoming storm injuries could make things worse.