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.
Latest headlines:
Ian's winds strengthen to 85 mph as track shifts north
Hurricane Ian has strengthened, with winds now at 85 mph, as it continues to move northward off the east coast of Florida.
The forecast track has shifted a little farther north with the latest advisory at 11 p.m. ET, putting cities like Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the storm's path for worse impacts, while less impact could be seen in Charleston.
Wind Gusts up to 90 mph are possible in Myrtle Beach on Friday afternoon, as Ian is expected to make landfall toward the south. Much of Georgia to the Carolinas will experience wind gusts over 50 mph.
-ABC News' Riley Winch
Fort Myers mayor: 80% of the city is still without power
Despite water receding in Fort Myers following Hurricane Ian's destructive path across Florida, 80% of the city is still without power, while 70% is without water, Mayor Kevin Anderson told ABC News Live Prime.
Anderson said the most important thing is to get electricity and water back up and running for residents, especially since it's still hot and humid in the area and people need air conditioning and water.
"Tomorrow, we're expecting the delivery of the pods with the water and food and ice and we'll be setting up delivery stations," he said. "Again, the problem is it's very, very difficult to live here without air conditioning."
Fort Myers has performed about 200 rescues and counting, according to the mayor.
"The crews were out and they're probably still out there working now, getting the roads cleared and getting the roads where they're traversable so that emergency vehicles can respond," Anderson said.
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.
Neocleous said the ordeal was terrifying: "I thought I was going to die right there."
-ABC News' Rachel DeLima, Andrew Fies and Victor Oquendo
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.
There were more than 2.3 million customers without power in the state just before 9 p.m. ET Thursday.
-ABC News' Darren Reynolds
Florida death toll climbs
Florida’s death toll from Hurricane Ian has climbed to at least 72, according to information from local officials.
Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers, accounts for the majority of the fatalities, with at least 35 lives lost in the county, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
In Charlotte County, which is home to Punta Gorda, the preliminary death toll is 23, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office told ABC News.
Other fatalities were reported in Sarasota, Volusia, Lake, Collier, Hendry and Manatee counties.
Despite the "complete devastation" in Lee County, Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Saturday that "there's light at the end of the tunnel. ... We are going to be stronger than ever."
"We are one big family together. That's what makes us great. And sometimes these horrific events bring us all together for us to move forward," Marceno said.
-ABC News’ Matt Foster