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 29, 2022, 10:04 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 29, 2022, 10:04 PM EDT

Fort Myers woman after rescue: 'I thought I was going to die right there'

Eva Neocleous, her mother, Aurora, and dog, Primi, waited more than 24 hours to get rescued from their Fort Myers home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

The family first called for help at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, but conditions were too dangerous for first responders at the time. Nobody came until the Cajun Navy pulled them out around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Neighborhoods stand flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in the area around Fort Myers, FLa., Sept. 29, 2022.
US Coast Guard/AFP via Getty Images

Neocleous said the ordeal was terrifying: "I thought I was going to die right there."

-ABC News' Rachel DeLima, Andrew Fies and Victor Oquendo

Sep 29, 2022, 8:56 PM EDT

DeSantis: More than 700 rescues since Ian's landfall

There have been more than 700 confirmed rescues in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian slamming Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

The Sanibel Causeway, which suffered significant damage in the storm, will most likely need to be rebuilt entirely, he said.

Parts of Sanibel Causeway are washed away along with sections of the bridge after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on Sept. 29, 2022.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

There were more than 2.3 million customers without power in the state just before 9 p.m. ET Thursday.

Power company crew trucks drive on a flooded street on their way to help communities impacted by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, FLa., Sept. 29, 2022.
Marta Lavandier/AP

-ABC News' Darren Reynolds

Sep 29, 2022, 8:04 PM EDT

Tracking Hurricane Ian: Where could the storm hit next?

Another coastline known for its sensitivity to storm surge will feel Ian's wrath as the storm system looks to make another landfall.

While Ian made a slow crawl through central and northern Florida on Thursday as a tropical storm, its sights will soon be set on the coast of South Carolina -- specifically Charleston, which historically does not do well with storm surge.

This satellite image taken at 5:01 p.m. EDT and provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Ian, Sept. 29, 2022.
NOAA via AP

Ian regained strength Thursday evening as a Category 1 storm with winds of 75 mph as it makes its way north.

See the latest maps, projections and possible paths as Ian targets the Carolinas.

-ABC News' Julia Jacobo and Meredith Deliso

Sep 29, 2022, 7:51 PM EDT

Thousands evacuated from nursing homes, hospitals

As of Thursday afternoon, 45 nursing homes were evacuated across Florida -- impacting about 3,500 residents -- as were 115 assisted-living facilities, according to the Florida Health Care Association.

A staff member stands in a flooded hallway at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., Sept. 28, 2022.
Dr. Birgit Bodine via AP

Various containers and clothes soak up floodwater near debris at an area at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., Sept. 28, 2022.
Dr. Birgit Bodine via AP

Read more of our coverage here.

-ABC News' Mary Kekatos

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