Surge videos show destruction as Hurricane Ian comes ashore

The eye of Hurricane Ian has come ashore over Sanibel and Captiva Islands on Florida's southwest Gulf Coast.

Ian’s eye wall is raking Fort Myers and Cape Coral. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center is calling Ian “catastrophic” in the headlines of hurricane updates Wednesday.

Ian has made landfall as the fifth strongest hurricane on record to hit the United States.

Massive storm surge unfolding

Ian’s story now is less about forecast models and storm tracks and more about precise impacts from storm surges, intense rainfall, and winds.

Keep in mind that 85 percent of hurricane deaths are caused by water. Wind and category size may get most of the headlines but storm surges and flooding from intense rainfall are the biggest threats.

We’re still in the beginning stages of Ian. And we’re already starting to see some serious wind and storm surge images and video rolling in as Ian takes hold.

Here are a few select clips of the damage Florida is seeing as of early Wednesday afternoon.

Eye wall winds, storm surge in Fort Myers

Eye wall winds on Sanibel Island

Fort Myers Beach storm surge

Rising storm surge, damage in Fort Myers

Naples storm surge

As bad as these images are we are still in the early stages of Ian’s wrath. I am hoping for safety first for all in Ian’s path.

Ian’s economic toll will be staggering. As I wrote this week I still think Ian may end up as one of the costliest weather disasters on record in the U.S. We’re likely looking at 10s of billions in insured losses with Ian. And I won’t be surprised if losses top $100 billion.