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:
Flash flood emergency declared near Orlando
A flash flood emergency was declared in areas north of Orlando as the region was hit by about a foot of rain, the National Weather Service said.
The declaration covered Sanford, Lake Mary and Heathrow, the service said. Nearby Central Orange, Seminole and South Central Volusia were also under flash flood warnings.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the service said. “Seek higher ground now! Life threatening flash flooding of low water crossings, small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.”
Parts of the region have seen more than 16 inches of rain within 24 hours, with more than 9 inches in the last six hours, making the storm a 1,000-year flood event in the Orlando area and to the north.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo and Kenton Gewecke
Power outages spread to 2.5 million customers
More than 2.5 million customers were without power in Florida at about 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, the state’s providers said.
Ian becomes tropical storm with 65 mph winds
Ian’s winds slowed to 65 mph early on Thursday morning, downgrading the system to a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center said.
“The Hurricane Warnings along the east and west coasts of the Florida peninsula have been changed to Tropical Storm Warnings,” the center said.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Biden and DeSantis update schedules for Thursday
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will be holding his next press conference on the latest developments of Hurricane Ian at 8:45 a.m. ET at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.
President Biden, meanwhile, will visit FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. to receive an update on Hurricane Ian at 12 p.m. ET.
While Hurricane Ian is expected to become a tropical storm on Thursday, the storm has battered southwest Florida and has left more than 2 million people without power so far.
Ian, a Category 3, expected to strengthen more
Ian, now a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds, has strengthened on Tuesday and is forecast to strengthen even more into the night.
The latest track shows Ian making landfall on Wednesday, striking the west coast of Florida between Tampa and Fort Myers, bringing flooding and damaging winds.
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Tampa to Fort Myers and storm surge warnings are in effect for a large portion of Florida’s west coast.
There is also a risk for tornadoes in Florida Tuesday and Wednesday.