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: September 28, 2022, 8:49 PM 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, 4:13 PM EDT

Over 1 million power outages

Over 1 million Florida customers were without power on Wednesday just after Ian made landfall.

The majority of outages were along the west coast in Sarasota, Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties.

PHOTO: Gusts from Hurricane Ian begin to knock down small trees and palm fronds in a hotel parking lot in Sarasota, Fla., Sept. 28, 2022.
Gusts from Hurricane Ian begin to knock down small trees and palm fronds in a hotel parking lot in Sarasota, Fla., Sept. 28, 2022.
Steve Nesius/Reuters

Hurricane Ian has caused severe flooding conditions in Ft. Myers, Fla., as seen in an image taken from video shared on June 28, 2022 via Facebook.
Loni Architects/Facebook

Sep 28, 2022, 3:12 PM EDT

Ian makes landfall as Category 4

Sep 28, 2022, 2:06 PM EDT

Biden to visit FEMA on Thursday

President Joe Biden will visit FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to receive an update on Hurricane Ian, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“We have deployed significant federal resources to the region to help prepare for the hurricane,” Jean-Pierre said at Wednesday’s press briefing. “We have more than 1,300 federal response workers on the ground in Florida. ... Three-hundred Army Corps personnel are on the ground to support power and fuel assessments. Three-hundred ambulances are supporting local officials, and multiple federal disaster medical assistance teams are deployed to Florida and Georgia.”

Sep 28, 2022, 1:33 PM EDT

Counties suspend emergency response calls

Sarasota County, Florida, officials announced emergency crews will no longer respond to calls due to Hurricane Ian.

A car is seen on Caloosahatchee Bridge ahead of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers, Fla., Sept. 28, 2022.
Marco Bello/Reuters

In Charlotte County, just north of Fort Myers, emergency response calls for fire and EMS service will also be suspended.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office added, “911 will still be operational and calls will be triaged for response as soon as weather condition permit.”

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