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Hurricane Ian updates: Florida death toll climbs

PHOTO: Destroyed homes and businesses on Pine Island, Florida are seen from a U.S. Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Pine Island, Fla., Oct. 1, 2022.
2:31
Kevin Fogarty/Reuters
More than 100 deaths reported after Hurricane Ian
By Julia Jacobo, Teddy Grant, Kevin Shalvey, Emily Shapiro, Melissa Gaffney, Meredith Deliso, Jon Haworth, Nadine El-Bawab, Stephanie Guerilus
Last Updated: October 2, 2022, 3:36 AM

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:

  • Florida death toll climbs
  • 1.05 million without power in Florida
  • North Carolina reports 4 deaths due to Ian
  • ‘It’s a different Sanibel,’ mayor says
Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.

Oct 02, 2022 3:36 AM

Bidens to visit Puerto Rico, Florida

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday, and Florida on Wednesday to survey the damage from Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian, respectively, the White House announced Saturday night.

Biden had previously said he would visit Florida to see the destruction in person, and that it was his "intention" to do the same for Puerto Rico.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle


Oct 02, 2022 2:04 AM

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.

PHOTO: Part of a destroyed mobile home park is pictured in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images
Part of a destroyed mobile home park is pictured in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: An aerial image shows destroyed houses in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
An aerial image shows destroyed houses in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

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.

PHOTO: An aerial image shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
An aerial image shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

PHOTO: An aerial image shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
An aerial image shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2022.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News’ Matt Foster


Oct 01, 2022 11:58 PM

1.05 million without power in Florida

Over 1.05 million customers remain without power in Florida on Saturday, days after Hurricane Ian tore through the state.

PHOTO: Osceola County Sheriffs use a fanboat as they urge residents to leave the flooded Good Samaritan Society following Hurricane Ian, Sept. 30, 2022, in Kissimmee, Fla.
Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images
Osceola County Sheriffs use a fanboat as they urge residents to leave the flooded Good Samaritan Society following Hurricane Ian, Sept. 30, 2022, in Kissimmee, Fla.
Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Homes and businesses are flooded from the rising waters of the Peace River after Hurricane Ian, on Sept. 30, 2022, in Arcadia, Fla.
Crystal Vander Weit-USA Today Network
Homes and businesses are flooded from the rising waters of the Peace River after Hurricane Ian, on Sept. 30, 2022, in Arcadia, Fla.
Crystal Vander Weit-USA Today Network

Another 56,800 customers are without power in North Carolina and more than 17,000 are in the dark in Virginia after Ian and its remnants moved north.

PHOTO: A motorist drives though high water, as another turns around during the effects from Hurricane Ian, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C.
Alex Brandon/AP
A motorist drives though high water, as another turns around during the effects from Hurricane Ian, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C.
Alex Brandon/AP


Oct 01, 2022 9:14 PM

Over 1,100 people rescued in Florida by National Guard

More than 1,100 Floridians have been rescued by the Florida National Guard in the wake of Hurricane Ian, according to state officials.

The rescues include 1,076 people evacuated from flooded areas in southwest and central Florida as of Saturday morning, as well as 78 people transported from a flooded nursing home facility, Gov. Ron DeSantis' office said in a press release.

@FLGuard Soldiers en route to Sanibel Island Florida to assist with medical evacuations & search and rescue operations in the wake of #HurricaneIan September 30, 2022. The #USNationalGuard has been supporting state and local officials in support of Hurricane Ian relief. pic.twitter.com/Y0R8gZiCqB

— U.S. Army (@USArmy) September 30, 2022

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