Dramatic video has emerged of the storm surge captured by a camera 6 ft off the ground on Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach, Florida amid Hurricane Ian. The video shows torrential floods and powerful winds with trees blowing intensely in the background. Numerous people are trapped by water in their homes, Collier county sheriff’s office announced on Wednesday afternoon. “Here’s some tough news you need to know. We aren’t holding back,” the sheriff’s office said. “We are in call triage mode. We are getting a significant number of calls of people trapped by water in their homes. Some are reporting life threatening medical emergencies in deep water. We will get to them first. Some are reporting water coming into their house but not life threatening. They will have to wait. Possibly until the water recedes,” they added. Collier county is home to approximately 370,000 people and is also facing widespread power outages. Over 1 million Florida residents without power Over 1 million Florida residents are without power, according to PowerOutage.us. As of 5.27pm ET, 1,295,261 residents in Florida are going through power outages. Charlotte county is currently the hardest hit, with 96.61% of its residents without power. Out of the 127,498 customers tracked, 123,178 are out. The second hardest hit county is Lee county, with 85.45% of the customers without power, or 403,161 out of 471,806 customers who are tracked. The National Hurricane Center has issued an updated advisory on Hurricane Ian, stating that the hurricane is expected to move across central Florida tonight and Thursday morning and weaken as it progresses. The hurricane is expected to emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday and will likely turn northward on Friday and approach the north-eastern Florida coast, Georgia and South Carolina coasts by late Friday. “Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts. Ian is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,” the advisory stated. “Further weakening is expected for the next day or so, but Ian could be near hurricane strength when it moves over the Florida east coast tomorrow, and when it approaches the north-eastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday.” Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km),” it added. US Coast Guard searching for 23 missing migrants near Florida Keys The US Coast Guard has initiated a search on Wednesday for 23 people who tried to cross the Florida Straits in the midst of Hurricane Ian. According to border patrol agents, four migrants swam to shore on Stock Island in the Lower Keys around 7am on Wednesday, the Miami Herald reports. In a statement to the outlet, Coast Guard spokeswoman petty officer Nicole Groll said the group told border patrol agents that they were with 23 other individuals on a boat, including a group of Cuban migrants. The boat sank in the storm, she added. “Our crews took a calculated risk to brave the tropical storm force winds going through the Keys on the chance of people being alive in the water and being able to bring them home,” said Groll. Over 7,500 people are currently hunkering down in Hillsborough county shelters. In a Facebook post around an hour ago, the Hillsborough county Sheriff’s Office said that over 7,500 residents are in in the county’s shelters and thanked them for abiding by warnings. “We know the decision to leave behind your home and head to a shelter to ride out #HurricaneIan, is not an easy one to make. Thank you for heeding warnings and making sure you and your loved ones are safe!” the post said. “#teamHCSO has deputies as shelters and across the county to ensure the safety and security of our community!” it added. Hillsborough county is home to Tampa where its mayor Jane Castor has urged residents to not go “running outside” citing downed power lines and trees as safety concerns. More than 7% of Florida residents without power More than 7% of residents across Florida are currently without power. According to PowerOutage.us, 7.3% of Floridians are left without power as of 3.56pm ET on Wednesday afternoon. With Hurricane Ian making landfall earlier this afternoon, the numbers are expected to change. Counties that have been hardest hit include Lee county, which is currently experiencing an outage rate of 62.61%, or 295,394 out of 471,806 tracked customers who are without power. Collier county is currently experiencing an outage rate of 49.17%. Out of the 262,833 customers tracked, 129,224 are without power. The majority of those who are without power are Florida Power & Light customers. Significant amounts of water have receded from the beaches in Florida as Hurricane Ian stripped water away from the state’s coast. “Hurricane Ian’s winds are swirling counter-clockwise as it moves northward along the Florida peninsula, so its winds are whipping the water away from the shoreline ahead of the center. As the storm passes through, winds in its eastern and lower half will shove water back toward land — and inland — at a prodigious rate,” NPR explains. The National Weather Service posted eerie photos of the Venice Fishing Pier in Tampa with exposed seabeds. “IMPORTANT NOTE: The water WILL come back. Please do not attempt to walk there or any other location with receding water,” the NWS warned. Hurricane Ian makes landfall Hurricane Ian has made landfall near Cayo Costa along the south-western coast of Florida. “NOAA Doppler radar imagery indicates that the eye of Ian made landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida near Cayo Costa around 305 PM EDT,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement. The category 4 hurricane’s maximum sustained winds were estimated to be close to 150mph, or 240km/h, said the agency. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis says about 200,000 of the state’s residents are without power, but it’s a “drop in the bucket for what’s going to happen over the next 24 to 48 hours.” DeSantis was speaking at an afternoon briefing in Lake City, as Hurricane Ian’s eyewall was beginning to make landfall: There’s going to be widespread power outages, particularly in southwest Florida. Outside of Southwest Florida crews are working to quickly restore power. DeSantis said more than 42,000 lineworkers, many from out of state, were on standby to move in when conditions were considered safe. He also said he had requested approval for a major disaster declaration for all 67 counties in Florida, which he said would cover 100% of the state’s upfront costs for “response and recovery” for the first 60 days from US government funds. Joe Biden said earlier today that he had spoken with the Republican governor, and promised his “absolute commitment” to provide federal resources. In a rare, conciliatory moment for the Republican, usually a staunch critic of the president, DeSantis added: We appreciate the Biden administration’s consideration for the people of Florida during this time of need. DeSantis repeated warnings about the twin threat of life-threatening storm surge and deadly winds: Have we had storms as strong as this hit Florida? Michael, Andrew, the Labor Day hurricane many many decades ago... yes. Have we had big storms that left a lot of water and flooding? We had Irma recently. This is really bringing both to the table. You’re going to have a massive amount of power hitting that coastline with really, really strong winds. That is going to do a lot of damage. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that the bipartisan funding bill in the Senate will ensure that the federal disaster relief fund will be used on Hurricane Ian’s damages. “The bipartisan government funding bill the Senate is on track to pass this week will ensure the federal Disaster Relief Fund is fully resourced at this critical moment,” McConnell said. “We are all keeping the people of Florida at the forefront of our thoughts, and we’ll stand ready to help our colleagues from Florida, the Governor, and local officials however we can.” In a separate briefing by the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that president Joe Biden will visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters tomorrow. Video has emerged online of the roads in Fort Myers Beach in Florida being completely submerged in water on Wednesday morning as a result of intense flooding. Areas of Key West have been flooded with water as the Key West police department issued a warning to residents online, urging them to avoid walking in the water. Many more millions of Florida residents lay directly in the path of the deadly cyclone, which also threatened to bring a storm surge of up to 18ft (5.5 meters) to vulnerable coastal and inland areas, reports Richard Luscombe from Miami. Universal Orlando hotels are at capacity before Hurricane Ian, the theme park said. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the Universal Orlando Resort said that its hotels are currently at full capacity and “will remain operational as they focus on taking care of our guests.” It added that its guest services center is currently experiencing higher than expected wait times. “Our destination, including CityWalk, will close on Wednesday, Sept. 28. We will remain closed Thursday and anticipate reopening on Friday, Sept. 30 as conditions permit,” Universal Orlando Resort said in another statement online. The park has also cancelled its Halloween Horror Nights event and said it anticipates reopening the event on Friday, September 30, depending on weather conditions. Tampa’s mayor, Jane Castor, has issued a video plea to residents, urging them to take shelter and safety measures as the city braces for Hurricane Ian to hit land this afternoon. “Never thought I would say that I felt fortunate that we are only going to face tropical storm or category one hurricane winds but that’s what it looks like right now with the latest predictions,” she said. “So that does not mean that we are out of danger with Hurricane Ian. We are still going to get high winds and we are going to get 18 to 20 inches or more of rain on an area that is already saturated,” Castor added. “So please, please be aware that we are not out of danger yet. Flooding is still going to occur … after the storm, don’t go running outside. That’s where the majority of the injuries happen,” she warned, citing downed trees, fallen power lines and standing water. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released satellite images of Hurricane Ian captured on 28 September.