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.
Hurricane Ian has weakened to a Category 3 storm hours after making landfall near Fort Myers as a major hurricane.
While the strength of the storm has diminished slightly, Ian is still wreaking havoc on the Sunshine State as a devastating storm.
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
The highest wind gust measured at 132 mph at Port Charlotte, and maximum sustained winds are currently at 125 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 7 p.m. advisory.
Water levels in Fort Myers have been reported at more than 7 feet, the advisory states.
-ABC News' Riley Winch
Sep 28, 2022, 7:10 PM EDT
Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach 'decimated' by Ian, local officials say
Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach have been "decimated" by Ian after the major hurricane made landfall there.
About 75% of Lee County is without power, and several people are stranded due to high water, officials from Lee County Emergency Management announced during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
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
A curfew in Lee County was implemented beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Forecasts predict that it will not be safe to venture outside in the region until 5 a.m. on Thursday, officials said.
The number of injuries or fatalities is not yet clear, officials said, adding that the recovery efforts will take months.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Sep 28, 2022, 6:38 PM EDT
Wind gusts in eye wall measure at 104 mph
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration station in Venice Beach, Florida, has measured wind gusts of 104 mph within the northern eye wall of Hurricane Ian, according to the 6 p.m. storm advisory.
The storm is currently battering the Florida peninsula with catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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
Maximum sustained winds measured at 130 mph, and the storm system has begun churning even slower at 8 mph north-northeast -- toward the east coast of the state.
-ABC News' Melissa Griffin
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.
