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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Hurricane warning issued for entire coast of South Carolina
The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for the entire coast of South Carolina. A hurricane watch had been in place for the entire state earlier.
Now a tropical storm, Ian is expected to become a hurricane again Thursday night before making landfall near Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday morning or early afternoon.
Ian currently has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, just 4 mph from returning to hurricane strength.
Hillsborough County, including Tampa, lifts evacuation order
After conducting initial safety assessments, Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise has removed the evacuation order in place.
After hosting more than 8,000 evacuees across 47 shelters, the county is preparing to conclude its sheltering operations or transition shelter availability for evacuees who continue to need assistance.
"Residents whose homes have been damaged are encouraged to find a safe place to stay. That place might be with family, friends, or at a nearby hotel," the county said in a statement.
The county also urged residents heading home to drive with caution, not to drive through obstructions or standing water and to stay away from downed power lines.
-ABC News' Alexandra Faul
FEMA search and rescue teams out since 4 a.m., administrator says
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's search and rescue teams have been out in the field since 4 a.m. Thursday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told "Good Morning America." It will prioritize saving lives and helping people impacted by the storm, who may be trapped.
Criswell said FEMA has been hearing reports of people calling 911 through the night and will use information it has gathered in those hours to prioritize rescues in harder-hit areas.
"This has been just a catastrophic storm and it's left significant damage in its path," Criswell said.
Criswell said FEMA will be able to conduct rescues by land, air and sea.
The most significant impacts have been happening in Lee County, where people are without power and water. Criswell also expects impacts across the western coast of Florida.
"Water is dangerous. Even though the storm has passed, the water that is there is still dangerous. There's debris, there's chemicals, there could be downed power lines. People need to be careful, they need to stay vigilant," Criswell said.
Central Florida seeing 500-year flood event, damage will take years to repair, DeSantis says
There is potentially major flooding in Orange and Seminole counties and St. Johns River, potentially up to Jacksonville in northeast Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.
"The amount of water that's been rising and will likely continue to rise today, even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flood event. And I know Seminole County has done evacuations, I know they've opened shelters, but we're gonna see a lot of images about the destruction that was done in southwest Florida and obviously we have massive assets there," DeSantis said.
"This storm is having broad impacts across the state and some of the flooding you're going to see in areas hundreds of miles from where this [storm] made landfall are going to set records. And that's going to obviously be the things that will need to be responded to," DeSantis added.
The damage caused by the storm will likely take years to repair, he said.
"You're looking at a storm that's changed the character of a significant part of our state. And this is going to require not just emergency response now, in the days or weeks ahead. I mean, this is going to require years of effort to be able to rebuild and to come back," DeSantis said.
Gulf Coast, Tampa Bay area particularly vulnerable to hurricanes, expert says
Tropical Storm Ian is marching toward the Gulf Coast of the U.S., a region quite vulnerable to hurricanes.
The underwater geology of the Gulf of Mexico is what makes the Gulf Coast particularly unguarded to the massive influx of seawater, said Michael Brennan, acting deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, according to an article on Inside Science.
The symmetry of the Gulf of Mexico, with its shallow, sloping continental shelf, allows the storm surge to be pushed even higher onto land, Brennan told the outlet.
Because the land around the Gulf Coasts is typically flat, that exacerbates the flooding even more and allows the storm surge to travel farther inland, Brennan said.
"Of all of the hazards of hurricanes --- winds, rain, storm surges –-- surges are what can cause the largest loss of life," Brennan told Inside Science.
The Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area, one of the regions bracing for Ian, is especially vulnerable to storm surge flooding but has avoided a direct hit from a strong hurricane since 1921.
Editor's Note: This post has been updated to reflect proper attribution to Inside Science.
-ABC News' Max Golembo