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After the Hurricane

WATERLOGGED A neighborhood in Fort Myers, Florida, is flooded on September 29, after Hurricane Ian. RICARDO ARDUENGO—AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Rescue missions continue after Hurricane Ian. The storm hit Florida on September 28 as a Category 4 hurricane. For days afterward, water levels kept rising. Flooding prevented rivers from emptying into the sea.

Deanne Criswell heads the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She says the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and other groups have used “the largest amount of search-and-rescue assets . . . we’ve ever put in place before.”

Ian tore across Florida. It moved north to the Carolinas on September 30. At press time, at least a hundred people had died in the U.S. and Cuba. Federal disaster aid is on the way.

On October 5, President Joe Biden visited Florida. He was in Puerto Rico two days before. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. Hurricane Fiona landed there on September 18. Before his trip, Biden posted a message on Twitter for both places: “We see what you’re going through, and we’re with you.”

Stop and Think! How does the photo support the story? Why is it important to see the effects of the hurricane? What other photo would work?