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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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.
FEMA: 'Do not underestimate' Ian
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell warned Tuesday, "Floridians are going to experience the impacts from the storm for a very long time."
"Our biggest concern as we wait for this storm to make landfall is storm surge," Criswell said. "In 2018, when Hurricane Michael impacted the Florida Panhandle, there were five recorded fatalities as a result of storm surge. So therefore, if people are told to evacuate by their local officials, please listen to them. The decision you choose to make may mean the difference between life and death."
President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged residents to "evacuate when ordered."
Biden said he spoke to the mayors of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater Tuesday morning and told them to "contact me directly" for "whatever they need."
Criswell said a search and rescue coordination group has been activated, including members from FEMA's urban search and rescue teams, the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior.
The Red Cross has established 29 shelters and is prepared to open 60 more shelters if needed, she said.
Criswell stressed, "To those who may be watching at home, get ready and do not underestimate the potential that the storm can bring."
Orlando’s airport closing Wednesday
The Orlando International Airport said operations will stop at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport is closing at 1 p.m. Tuesday while Tampa International Airport is suspending flights at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is closing at 8 p.m. Tuesday while the Melbourne Orlando International Airport will stop flights at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Landfall in Florida forecast for Wednesday afternoon
Hurricane Ian’s track is moving south, with landfall forecast for late afternoon Wednesday between Tampa and Fort Myers as a Category 3 storm.
The storm surge forecast for Tampa Bay has dropped from 10 feet to 8 feet. But now the predicted storm surge for Fort Myers has increased and could be as high as 12 feet.
‘It’s a different Sanibel,’ mayor says
Sanibel, Florida Mayor Holly Smith said that her city will not be the same following Hurricane Ian's catastrophic impact.
Smith said she was on the island for four hours Friday and witnessed the devastation firsthand.
"Unless you're on the ground, you really can't take in the gravity of what we experienced. It's a different Sanibel," Smith told ABC News Live Prime.
Smith said that she was checking in on 300 residents and that it was very important to make contact.
"As far as we know at this point, the number of fatalities recorded are four,'' Smith said.
"This is going to be a very long recovery process," Smith added of the efforts to get everybody off the island and to safety. "It's not habitable."