Hurricane Ian updates: Florida death toll climbs

More than 500 people have been rescued in Charlotte and Lee counties since rescue operations began Thursday morning, Florida's Division of Emergency Management said. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing in those two counties.

There have been about 350 people rescued so far in Orlando, officials said. Among those were 106 people rescued from an Avante Group nursing home.

The city received 14 inches of rain from the storm, according to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, overflowing lakes and flooding neighborhoods in the inland city.

The U.S. Coast Guard had rescued more than 30 people over the last 24 hours, according to Adm. Linda Fagan.

"We live in these same communities that we're now responding to and supporting," Fagan told ABC News. "The Coast Guard workforce is really at its best in times like these, as we respond as an immediate, first-response agency."

FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams are also assisting in search and rescue efforts, checking homes and gathering information on buildings hit by Hurricane Ian, Jeremy Edwards, FEMA press secretary, told ABC News.

Search and rescue teams from Ohio, Indiana and Texas are searching and surveying the Tampa Bay area, while two teams from Virginia are in Punta Gorda, according to Edwards.

-ABC News' Victoria Arancio

Lee Health, the Florida-based health care system, has evacuated patients out of three of its four hospitals because they don't have running water due to Hurricane Ian, Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and CEO, said in a video statement Thursday.

“At the present time, our structures and facilities are in good shape. They’ve weathered the storm well, but our infrastructure is challenged in the way of our water supply and power,” Antonucci said.

Lee Health is working with the Agency for Health Care Administration in Florida and local emergency management to arrange for the evacuations of patients to other hospitals outside of Lee County, which includes Fort Myers.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul

Disney World, which was shut down Wednesday and Thursday, will begin a phased reopening on Friday, according to the resort.

The theme parks and Disney Springs will begin reopening "as we assess the impact of Hurricane Ian on our property," Disney tweeted.

The exact opening hours will be released later Thursday, Disney said.

More than a foot of rain has already fallen in the Orlando area with some light rain still ongoing. Hundreds of people have been rescued from flooding in the city.

Ian is expected to be at least a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when it makes its third landfall near or north of Charleston, South Carolina, Friday, in the late morning or early afternoon.

Ian, currently a high-end tropical storm with winds up to 70 mph, is moving off the east-central coast of Florida, currently 40 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The storm is forecast to regain hurricane strength in the next 12 hours.

Hurricane warnings remain in effect for the entire coast of South Carolina. Charleston already had almost 2 foot storm surge Thursday as Ian gets closer, and storm surge is forecast up to 7 feet.

The storm surge combined with up to 10 to 12 inches of rain is extremely concerning as the area floods easily.

-ABC News' Melissa Griffin