The hurricane uprooted this tree in Sarasota (Florida)

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The roar of the wind is deafening, the howling gusts so strong that they almost knock people over. There is no letting go of the force of nature. Not for hours. It seems as if time has stood still.

Palm trees bend to the horizontal, and every new gust of wind tears leaves from the crown and tree bark. Until, in the end, only the trunk bends in the storm. Loose items fly through the empty streets like projectiles. On a facade, you can see how the wind slowly loosens the cladding segments from the wall.

Light storm damage in Sarasota.

The storm of the century "Ian" came up close in the holiday town of Sarasota. She was struck by the northern edge of the dreaded "Eyewall" - the rotating wall of cloud surrounding the eye of the gigantic hurricane.

Hurricane-force gusts of wind vibrated even the solid concrete parking garage where the reporters had taken refuge. Now and then, lightning mingled with the meteorological inferno.

A firefighter in Naples, Florida, carries his gear through the storm surge from Hurricane Ian.

According to NBC weather experts, more than 1,000 discharges twitched through the rotating wall of clouds in just one hour. "I've never seen anything like it," said the moderator, almost in awe.

New weather warnings keep beeping on the smartphone: "Extreme wind" lights up on the screen. It warns of a "life-threatening" situation. Still, hard to believe: Cars drive on one of the through routes now and then.

The metal beams on which the traffic lights are mounted bend menacingly in the unrelenting storm above the vehicles. The danger is great: a tree or power pole could snap at any time - or street signs could fly through the air.

Center of the storm in Cape Coral

The center of four out of five hurricanes hit the coast near the city of Cape Coral, the US hurricane center announced on Wednesday. It is, therefore, an "extremely dangerous hurricane."

Images from the television station MSNBC showed completely flooded streets with cars floating in the city of Naples on Florida's southwest coast. According to local AFP news agency journalists, the city of Punta Gorda, further north, was hit by heavy rains.

About 2.5 million people were ordered to leave southwest Florida before the 150 mph storm hit the coast in the afternoon (local time).

The first photos and videos on social media showed severe flooding in the cities of Fort Myers Beach, Cape Coral, and Naples, some of which were several meters high. In addition, around 800,000 homes in Florida are currently without power.