Sep 28, 2022, 3:12 PM EDT
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.
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Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
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.
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.”
Sep 28, 2022, 1:03 PM EDT
Extreme wind warning issued
An extreme wind warning has been issued near Fort Myers as Hurricane Ian nears.
Naples has reported a wind gust of 112 mph.
Fort Myers resident Debbie Levenson and her husband chose not to evacuate for Hurricane Ian and are staying put at home.
“Hurricanes are a concern, but I don't freak out about it. You do what you have to do. You get your supplies, make sure you have flashlights, do your laundry ahead of time in case you lose power,” she told ABC News. “We bought bottled water and wine. We put gas in the car. The store shelves were not empty.”
"We are concerned with local flooding, but we drained the pool and are keeping an eye on the roads,” she continued. “Most of the neighborhood has stayed. Neighbors only left if they had small children or had a medical reason.”
@SchilkeScott/Twitter
Ken Graham, director of NOAA's National Weather Service, warned people sheltering in place to not venture out once the storm passes over.
“Don’t go out there. It’s so dangerous to be out there. So even if you see the water receding, it’s not the time to go out,” he said.
-ABC News' Morgan Korn and Max Golembo
