In pictures: Hurricane Ian batters Florida

Having left much of Cuba without power, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, causing severe damage. Wind speeds were beyond 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour in places as it hit the coast.

The mayor of Fort Myers said that 80% of the city was left without power as the hurricane hit the beach town. Images showed floodwaters rushing through the streets downtown.

This building in Fort Myers was among those left without power, forcing people to use flashlights to get around. Fort Myers was among the first large population centers hit. Anchors on local news channel WINK had to relocate to a different part of their studios to broadcast as water pushed into part of their building.

The international airports in the cities of Tampa and Orlando closed their doors, rerouting or canceling flights. Florida is a tourist hotspot both for US travelers and international visitors — even if peak season may have passed.

Hurricane Ian was one of the most powerful storms to hit the US in years. As it approached southwestern Florida, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a satellite image of what at that time was a Category 4 hurricane on the five-stage Saffir-Simpson scale.

"We'll be there to help you clean up and rebuild, to help Florida get moving again," President Joe Biden said on Wednesday. "And we'll be there every step of the way. That's my absolute commitment to the people of Florida." Governor Ron DeSantis had asked that Biden grant a Major Disaster Declaration across the state.

Ahead of the hurricane's arrival. repair trucks were lined up in an energy company parking lot in St. Petersburg to assist in the case of outages. According to a tracking website, poweroutage.us, almost 1.9 million households in Florida were without power as of 9 p.m. local time (0100 UTC/GMT).

The Naples Fire Department shared images of its firefighters struggling to move gear in waist-high water, with their fire truck parked in the storm surge.

Cape Coral was among the first places in the hurricane's path. By Wednesday evening, it was possible to start assessing the damage as the storm moved inland.

In Pembroke Pines, a tornado sprung up on the fringes of the storm as it approached, damaging some buildings and also affecting the North Perry Airport.

The various theme parks in the tourist state, particularly in Orlando but also in other affected cities like Tampa, were closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Sea World, pictured here, said, "Precautions are in place following the park's comprehensive weather preparedness plan to ensure the safety of our animals and ambassadors during this time."

As Hurricane Ian moved inland, the wind speeds began to dip and the storm started to weaken. By 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, gusts of up to 100 miles per hour were reported by the National Hurricane Center, making it a Category 3 hurricane. At the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in DC, technicians monitored the storm's progress.

The governors of Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina all preemptively declared states of emergency in anticipation of Ian's arrival. Forecasters expect it to weaken to tropical storm status as it moves inland over those states, likely continuing to drop flood-inducing levels of rainfall into the weekend.