Hurricane Ian strikes South Carolina as Florida counts cost of destruction

An aerial view of boats crashed in a harbor after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, U.S., September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

FORT MYERS, Fla./CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - Hurricane Ian slammed into South Carolina on Friday afternoon, making another landfall after a deadly march across Florida that washed away houses, stranded thousands and left an unknown number of people dead.

A resurgent Ian swept ashore at 2:05 p.m. (1805 GMT) near Georgetown, a waterfront town about 60 miles (97 km) north of the historic city of Charleston, packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 85 mph (140 kph) as a Category 1 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.