At least 20 missing after migrant boat sinks ahead of Ian's landfall
At least 20 people are still missing after a ship carrying Cuban migrants sank off the coast of Florida on Wednesday, Reuters reports, per U.S. Border Patrol. The boat sank on account of inclement weather caused by Hurricane Ian, the first hurricane to threaten Florida since 2018.
Four individuals on the boat were able to swim to shore and have since been hospitalized, Reuters adds, per officials and local media. The U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search and rescue operation for the others and was able to locate three of the original missing 23 migrants.
Hurricane Ian swept through Cuba on Tuesday, killing at least two. The storm then moved toward Florida's southwestern coast, where it made landfall Wednesday afternoon.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"You need to get into the interior of your home and begin to brace for a period of sustained damaging, potentially devastating winds," said acting National Hurricane Center Director Jamie Rhome, as quoted by the Orlando Sentinel. "Do not venture outside at all. do not try to evacuate at this point. You really have to get into the interior of your house and ride this part out."
As of 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, over 800,000 people in Florida were without power, "mostly in Collier, Charlotte, Lee, Sarasota, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties," the Sentinel writes.
Ian is considered a high-end Category 4 hurricane, with winds near 150 mph. The storm is predicted to move "northeastward, crossing [Florida] diagonally before moving offshore somewhere between Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville," CNN reports.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plants
Speed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How Taiwan minimized earthquake damage
The Explainer The country was rocked but not rolled
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Strong Taiwan earthquake kills 9, injures hundreds
Speed Read At magnitude 7.4, this was Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA sets auto pollution rule that boosts EVs
Speed Read The Biden administration's new rules will push US automakers toward electric vehicles and hybrids
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
More than 150 people dead following earthquake in Nepal
Speed Read The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue digging through rubble
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Nearly 1,000 birds dead in one night after striking building in Chicago
Speed Read The birds died after colliding with the McCormick Place convention center next to Lake Michigan
By Justin Klawans Published
-
At least 1 dead at Burning Man as thousands remain stranded from flooding
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published