Thousands board up their homes and flee ahead of 7ft storm surge after 17 Floridians confirmed dead
- Hurricane Ian intensified into a Category 1 hurricane again as of 5pm as it angles north toward South Carolina
- Ian is located about 240 miles south of Charleston and is moving toward the north-northeast at about 10 mph
- Helpless Floridians desperately called relatives and police, pleading to be rescued from their flooded homes
- Authorities have warned that fatalities will be ‘in the hundreds’ as the monster storm continues to rage
- Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as Category 4 storm on Wednesday, hitting state with 150mph winds
- Seventeen deaths have been confirmed in the US, on top of the two in Cuba after the island was hit this week
- President Biden has declared the event a ‘major disaster’ in Florida which makes federal funding available
- South Carolina is set to become the second US landfall, with Ian strengthening again into a Cat 1 hurricane
