Hurricane Ian updates: Florida death toll climbs
Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers, accounts for most of the fatalities.
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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Power restored to 502,100 customers, some will experience prolonged outages
Power has been restored to 502,100 customers, as of 5 a.m. Thursday, Florida Power & Light Company said.
But, the power utility company warned that some customers may experience prolonged outages "because portions of the electric system in Southwest Florida will need to be rebuilt rather than repaired," FPL said in a statement.
The company said is still working to restore power to 1.2 million customers.
FPL said its workforce has increased to more than 20,000 people, including mutual assistance from 30 states, as it works around the clock to restore power.
"Hurricane Ian has forever altered the lives of so many of our fellow Floridians and we recognize the road to recovery will be long and challenging," Eric Silagy, chairman and CEO of FPL, said in a statement.
Ian a deadly, 'life-changing' storm, Lee County sheriff says
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told ABC News' "Good Morning America" that Hurricane Ian was very unpredictable, with officials tracking the storm every minute and they didn't know where it would hit.
"This is a life-changing event for all of us. We tracked that storm up the coast of Florida, it was very unpredictable," Marceno said.
He added, "We didn't know where it would hit. I can tell you it came into Lee County strong and it was slow moving."
Marceno said there were fatalities, but he didn't yet know the exact number.
Marceno said they are already assessing the area, but the whole area is "crushed" and people are trapped. Marceno said they have thousands of 911 calls that they are currently answering.
"We still cannot access many of the people that are in need," Marceno said. "It's a real, real rough road ahead."
In Volusia County, on Florida's east coast, authorities said one person has been confirmed dead. A 72-year-old man who went outside to drain his pool was swept away and found dead in a canal behind the house.
Biden approves Florida disaster declaration
President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for Florida residents in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," the White House said.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Conditions in Kissimmee and neighboring counties in Florida worsened overnight
Flooding has hit several parts of the Orlando area, including Seminole, Osceola, Lake counties and other neighboring areas.
ABC News' Orlando affiliate WFTV said that first responders in Kissimmee rescued at least one person from a couple of vehicles that had been partially submerged during a storm surge overnight.
It is unclear how severe the damage is in the area but witnesses reported heavy and sustained wind and rain throughout the overnight hours.
-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway
Caribbean Islands to start experiencing effects from Ian by Monday
Caribbean islands such as Jamaica and Grand Cayman will start to experience the effects from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Ian within the next 24 hours, forecasts show. The islands will experience conditions such as heavy rain, possible flash flooding and storm surge.
The storm system will begin to rapidly intensify overnight into Monday before it closes in on western Cuba on Monday night.
As of 2 p.m., the sustained winds in the tropical storm remained at 50 mph as it moved west-northwest at 12 mph, the center about 265 miles away from Grand Cayman.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for Grand Cayman and western Cuba, while tropical storm warnings and watches are in effect in other portions of both islands.
As a hurricane, Ian is expected to peak at a Category 4 before weakening slightly as it looks to make landfall on the west coast or panhandle of Florida in the coming days.
There is still some uncertainty to the track Ian will take once the system enters the Gulf of Mexico.
The center of the storm and the worst of the impacts could end up heading toward the western coast of Florida's peninsula, including the Tampa area. The other possible scenario has the storm moving more due north and bringing a possible landfall along the Florida peninsula, impacting cities like Panama City and Tallahassee with more direct effects.
The storm will begin to impact the Florida keys and the southern portions of the state by Tuesday night.
-ABC News' Dan Peck