Hurricane Ian updates: Florida death toll climbs

Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers, accounts for most of the fatalities.

ByJulia Jacobo, Teddy Grant, Kevin Shalvey, Emily Shapiro, Melissa Gaffney, Meredith Deliso, Jon Haworth, Nadine El-Bawab, and Stephanie Guerilus
Last Updated: October 4, 2022, 7:27 AM EDT

The remnants of Ian are charging up the East Coast on Saturday after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in South Carolina on Friday afternoon.

The monster storm made its first U.S. landfall on Wednesday on Florida's west coast as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, shredding homes with ferocious winds topping 150 mph. Florida's death toll has climbed to at least 81, according to information from local officials.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Sep 28, 2022, 12:24 AM EDT

DeSantis tells Floridians time to evacuate is 'now'

Hurricane Ian is fast approaching Florida, and the time to leave is "now" if you're in an evacuation zone, Gov. Ron DeSantis said late Tuesday during a press conference.

"Your time to evacuate is coming to an end. You need to evacuate now. You're going to start feeling major impacts of this storm relatively soon," the governor said. "Now is the time to do it, and now is the time to act."

As of Tuesday night, about 8,000 people were without power in the southern part of Florida, officials said.

Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate across central and south Florida, with landfall currently forecast sometime between Wednesday afternoon and early evening.

Elsewhere, a tropical storm warning is now in effect along the coast of Georgia and up to Charleston, S.C.

-ABC News' Darren Reynolds, Dan Peck

Sep 27, 2022, 10:31 PM EDT

Biden spoke with DeSantis, White House press secretary says

President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday night with Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of Hurricane Ian's arrival "to discuss the steps the federal government is taking to help Florida prepare," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted.

"The president and the governor committed to continued close coordination," Jean-Pierre wrote.

-ABC News' Mary Bruce

Sep 27, 2022, 10:18 PM EDT

Cuba without power in wake of Hurricane Ian: Reports

Cuba has lost power after Hurricane Ian made landfall on the island Tuesday, according to reports.

The country's Electric Union said it's working to restore service overnight to 11 million people, The Associated Press reported. The Cuban News Agency had initially reported there is no power.

There is "0 electricity generation" in the country, according to a National Electric System update. "This complicated condition is also associated with complex weather conditions that have affected the SEN infrastructure," the update said.

-ABC News' Mara Valdes, Darren Reynolds

Sep 27, 2022, 8:33 PM EDT

Some Florida residents begin evacuating ahead of Ian's landfall

Some Florida residents have begun evacuating their homes as Hurricane Ian approaches.

PHOTO: Allen Silke, 33, left, helps his brother's family, Isabella, 4, JP, 8 and Heather, 35, load their belongings into vehicles as they evacuate their home before Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Tampa, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022
Allen Silke, 33, left, helps his brother's family, Isabella, 4, JP, 8 and Heather, 35, load their belongings into vehicles as they evacuate their home before Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Tampa, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022. Heather Silke said Allen will take in the family's dogs as they shelter with family friends in Riverview at Publix in Plant City.
Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via ZumaPress

People are seeking shelter ahead of the storm, which is currently forecast to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane sometime Wednesday afternoon.

People get settled into the gym at Island Coast High School, the only shelter open ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian, in Cape Coral, Ft Myers, Fla., on the afternoon of Sept. 27, 2022.
Amanda Inscore/The News-Press via USA Today Network

PHOTO: Heather Silke, 35, carries Nugget, the family's 16-year-old Chihuahua, as they evacuate from their home to shelter with family friends in Riverview before Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Tampa, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022.
Heather Silke, 35, carries Nugget, the family's 16-year-old Chihuahua, as they evacuate from their home to shelter with family friends in Riverview before Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Tampa, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022. Silke said they plan for her brother-in-law to take in the family's dogs.
Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via ZumaPress

Ian remains a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph as of Tuesday might.

It’s moving north-northeast at 10 mph and the center is located about 180 miles south-southwest of Punta Gorda, Florida.

There have been multiple tornado warnings in the area over the past few hours. A large tornado was reported on the ground in southern Broward County, near Davie, at around 7:30 p.m. ET.

Cape Coral residents arrive at Island Coast High School for shelter after mandatory evacuations in areas of the city were implemented due to possible impact from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022
Ricardo Rolon/The News-Press via USA Today Network

-ABC News’ Daniel Peck

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