Hurricane Ian freak accident kills woman as falling nail pierces heart on her birthday

A woman was tragically killed during Hurricane Ian when a nail falling from a roof pierced her heart.

Nishelle Harris-Miles, 40, had travelled into Fort Myers, Florida to celebrate her birthday with her cousin Chanel Maston and two others when her holiday was wrecked by the deadly storm.

It came as catastrophic gales of 150 mph, torrential rain and a treacherous sea surge downed power lines and destroyed buildings last week, resulting in the deaths of at least 83 people as bodies continue to be found.

Chanel told local news channel WLWT that she and Nishelle had taken shelter in their Airbnb accommodation ahead of the storm, and had attached themselves to each other with a sheet when a ferocious gale caused the roof of the room to begin collapsing.

Her cousin Chanel Maston said Nishelle's main artery was punctured by a falling nail when a roof collapsed (Facebook)

But the pair struggled as rain and parts of the structure started falling onto them, and they were forced to kick pieces away as they tried to stay on top of their mattress.

The debris turned deadly when a nail fell down and cut through Nishelle's body, puncturing her main artery.

Recalling how they desperately clung on against the storm, Chanel said: "We strapped ourselves to each other with a sheet, laid on the mattress. That water came out that floor so fast, so quick. The roof was smashing us"

"We tried to kick off the roof and lay on the mattress. It kicked off that roof, so that roof wouldn't smash us and the roof went, and we went."

Nishelle was celebrating her 40th birthday in Florida with her cousin and two other women (Facebook)

She also spoke of the pair of them had pleaded desperately for help as the situation got worse, saying they "started calling people before the water really started rising", but no one reached them in time.

"We called 911. We called 211. We called everybody to get us out of there, and nobody came", she added. The four women were stuck inside the accommodation for 14 hours until they were able to escape, with the survivors flying home on September 30.

Nishelle died seven days after her 40th birthday.

At least 83 people have died in the storm as bodies continued to be found late on Sunday (WLWT)

The Hurricane Ian continued to rise late on Sunday evening as floodwaters receded and search teams were once again able to access areas cut off from the storm.

Hundreds of people have been rescued as emergency workers sifted through homes and buildings inundated with water or completely washed away.

All but four of the deaths have been recorded in Florida, where authorities believe it may be the state's worst ever recorded storm.