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, 8:48 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, 6:33 PM EDT

'Massive mobilization' of utility trucks on the way to Florida, governor says

A caravan of utility trucks is making its way from several states toward the parts of Florida most battered by Hurricane Ian to restore power after the worst of the storm has passed, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

"We have a massive, massive mobilization," DeSantis said, adding that workers are coming from other southern states accustomed to hurricane cleanup, such as Texas and Louisiana.

Utility trucks are staged ahead of Hurricane Ian, near the Florida Turnpike, Sept. 28, 2022, in Wildwood, Fla.
Gerald Herbert/AP

More nearly 1.5 million customers in Florida were without power Wednesday as Ian made landfall near Fort Myers.

Ian continued to batter a large swath of Florida at 6:15 p.m. ET, with life-threatening storm surge all along the southwest coast — up to 12 feet in some places, DeSantis said.

Downtown Naples was reportedly completely flooded due to record storm surge, and while there were also reports of structural damage in Lee County, DeSantis said.

"This was a top five hurricane to ever hit the Florida peninsula," the governor said.

Sparks are seen near damaged power lines in Naples, Fla., around 9:30AM on June 28, 2022, in an image from video taken by Erik Mogelvang and shared via Twitter.
Erik Mogelvang

DeSantis said that devastating inland flooding was inundating much of the regions experiencing hurricane conditions, as well.

DeSantis has declared a major disaster in the state.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Sep 28, 2022, 6:13 PM EDT

Fort Myers, Naples issue curfews

The city of Fort Myers in southwest Florida has issued a citywide curfew "to protect and safeguard the health, safety and welfare of residents, visitors and first responders." The curfew started at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will be in effect for the next 48 hours.

Down the coast, the city of Naples also issued a citywide curfew earlier Wednesday afternoon, effective immediately until further notice.

Naples reported record storm surge Wednesday morning, before Ian made landfall.

Sep 28, 2022, 4:54 PM EDT

Ian makes 2nd landfall on Florida mainland

Hurricane Ian made a second landfall just south of Punta Gorda with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph.

Ian made initial landfall on a barrier island near Cayo Costa just after 3 p.m.

Sep 28, 2022, 4:20 PM EDT

South Carolina, North Carolina issue states of emergency

The governors of South Carolina and North Carolina each issued states of emergency on Wednesday afternoon in preparation for Ian's arrival.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said no evacuations or school closures have been ordered yet.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the decision would help first responders and farmers and protect customers from price gouging.

The storm is expected to cross Florida and enter the Atlantic before making landfall again along the South Carolina coast over the weekend.

Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station, Sept. 28, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday as a catastrophic Category 4 storm.
NASA via AP

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