Hurricane Ian washes man’s newly purchased McLaren out of garage and down street
Hurricane Ian has been bettering the south coast of the United States over the past 24 hours, leaving behind it a path of destruction.
Footage shared on social media shows homes being destroyed and roads turned into rivers as the storm rips through Florida.
Millions of people have been affected, with many hunkering down in office blocks or fleeing to other parts of the state to escape the chaos.
One of those affected is a man called Ernie, who's recently purchased supercar was seen floating down the road close to his home.
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Active on Instagram, Ernie has a fleet of expensive motors, regularly sharing updates to his army of followers.
The latest addition to his collection was the McLaren P1, which was priced at over $1 million when it originally went on sale.
However, in photos posted to his account, Ernie revealed that his pride and joy had fallen victim to the storm and had been washed out of his garage and into the street.
Posting the pic of it submerged in water, he wrote: "Car went thru the garage."
Other photos in his stories show Hurricane Ian battering his neighbourhood, with winds raging and roads completely flooded.
Since he shared the news, Ernie's followers have piled into the comments to offer some support at what is a pretty devastating moment for everyone in the state.
One user said: "Stay safe, cars are replaceable."
Another wrote: "Hope everyone is alright."
"I'm so sorry, that's heartbreaking," put a third.
While another added: "I'm so sorry... most important that you and your family are safe. Sending prayers."
The category four storm is the fifth strongest in its history and has seen Florida pummelled by 150mph winds.
Residents were ordered to evacuate the south-west region of the state ahead of the storm hitting.
Ian Hawver, a handyman from Fort Myers, had planned on waiting the storm out. But due to the sheer power of the hurricane, he had to abandon his plan and instead headed across the state to Fort Lauderdale.
He said: "We were going to stay and then just decided when we got up, and they said 155 mph winds.
"We don’t have a generator. I just don’t see the advantage of sitting there in the dark, in a hot house, watching water come in your house."
Governor Ron DeSantis thanked politicians from other states for offering to send help during their hour of need.
Prior to hitting the US, it cut right through Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the country's grid.
Dominic Smithers