PM Modi offers condolences to US President Biden over death, devastation caused by hurricane Ian

At least 66 people are believed to have died because of Ian in Florida alone, and four people were killed in storm-related incidents in North Carolina, officials say.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday offered his “sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathies” to US President Joe Biden over the loss of lives and destruction caused by hurricane Ian.

“My sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathies to @POTUS @JoeBiden for the loss of precious lives and devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. Our thoughts are with the people of the United States in these difficult times,” tweeted PM Modi.

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At least 66 people are believed to have died because of Ian in Florida alone, and four people were killed in storm-related incidents in North Carolina, officials say. Ian also knocked out power for hundreds of thousands in the Carolinas Friday into early Saturday, reported CNN.

In western Florida’s Arcadia – dozens of miles inland – river flooding still covered part of the town like a lake on Saturday, making a state highway invisible and swallowing all but the roof of a gas station.

In hard-hit Fort Myers, where storm surge swallowed vehicles and many homes, reported CNN.

By Saturday evening, Ian was a post-tropical cyclone, continuing to weaken across southern Virginia. It could drop several more inches of rain over parts of West Virginia and western Maryland into Sunday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

On Wednesday, Ian smashed into southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, pulverizing coastal homes and trapping residents with floodwaters, especially in the Fort Myers and Naples areas. It pushed inland into Thursday, bringing strong winds and damaging flooding to central and northeastern regions, reported CNN.

The hurricane then made another landfall Friday in South Carolina between Charleston and Myrtle Beach as a Category 1 storm, flooding homes and vehicles along the shoreline and eventually knocking out power for hundreds of thousands more in the Carolinas and Virginia.

More than a million customers in Florida still did not have power Saturday evening, and more than 99,000 did not have power in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us.