Welcome to the Daily article podcast for Friday, September the 30th, 2022.

Today's article is written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins of the Denison Forum.

Her only way out is on a boat.

That's what a daughter told rescuers in North Fort Myers, Florida, about her mother, whose home was being swamped by five feet of water.

We don't know when the water's going to go down.

We don't know how we're going to leave.

Their cars are totaled, she said.

This is just one of the stories emerging from Florida, which was hit by the fifth largest hurricane ever to strike the U.S.

when Hurricane Ian came ashore Wednesday afternoon.

Emergency crews are working to rescue trapped residents from flooded homes.

President Biden warned that there may be substantial loss of life in the state.

About 2.6 million customers are

still without power this morning. Governor Ron DeSantis said, the impacts of this storm are historic,

and the damage that was done has been historic. An insurance expert warned that the hurricane could

cost $30 billion in losses,

which would be one of the most severe loss events in U.S. history.

One Florida Gulf Coast resident said she's lived in the area for nearly 30 years

and had not seen damage this extensive.

This is the first time that I've ever lost everything, she said.

Now, Ian has reached hurricane strength again and is expected to make landfall in South Carolina today.

More devastation is still to come.

As horrific as these days have been, on a numeric level, they could have been even worse.

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