Hurricane Ian: more than 2m without power as Florida hit with ‘catastrophic’ wind and rain

Major, major' storm, estimated to be 140 miles wide, sweeps inland after causing huge flooding on coast, with millions of residents in its path

Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to strike the US mainland, has battered south-west Florida with high winds, rain and storm surges as it weakened and moved inland.

More than 2m homes and businesses were left without power as the storm swept ashore in south-west Florida on Wednesday afternoon, bringing catastrophic" 150mph winds and a deadly storm surge of up to 18ft. Hours later, the storm - estimated to be about 140 miles wide - was downgraded from a category 4 to a category 1 storm as it moved slowly north-east, causing major flooding.