The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the deaths include a 22-year-old woman thrown from an ATV Friday by a road washout in Manatee County and a 71-year-old man who died of head injuries when he fell. from a roof while installing rain shutters on Wednesday. Many of the other deaths were drownings, including a 68-year-old woman who was swept into the ocean by a wave. Three more people died in Cuba as the storm made landfall in the north earlier in the week. The death toll was expected to rise significantly once emergency officials had a chance to search many areas hardest hit by the storm. Ian made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 85 mph near Georgetown, South Carolina, shortly after 2 p.m. of Friday. It was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone hours later. Click here for live radar and the latest forecast for Ian’s path. PHOTOS: Elementary aerial images show the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Sanibel Island Damaged homes and debris are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. AP Photo/Wilfred Lee A rekindled Hurricane Ian lashed coastal South Carolina on Friday, tearing apart piers and flooding neighborhoods after the deadly storm wreaked havoc in Florida and trapped thousands in their homes. Ian’s center made landfall near Georgetown with much weaker winds than when it crossed Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday as one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S. As it passed through South Carolina, Ian dropped from hurricane to post-tropical cyclone. Sheets of rain lashed trees and power lines and left many areas of the central Charleston peninsula under water. Four piers along the coast, including two in Myrtle Beach, collapsed in the churning waves and were washed away. Online cameras showed seawater filling neighborhoods in the Garden City up to calf level. Ian left a wide swath of destruction in Florida, flooding areas on both coasts, tearing homes off their slabs, demolishing waterfront businesses and leaving more than 2 million people without power. At least nine people have been confirmed dead in the US – a number expected to rise as officials confirm more deaths and search for people. Rescue crews piloted boats and walked riverside streets Thursday to rescue thousands of people trapped among flooded homes and collapsed buildings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis said Friday that crews went door-to-door to more than 3,000 homes in the hardest-hit areas. “It was really a herculean effort,” he said during a news conference in Tallahassee. Among the dead were an 80-year-old woman and a 94-year-old man who relied on oxygen machines that stopped working amid power outages, as well as a 67-year-old man who was waiting to be rescued and fell into the rising water inside his home, authorities said. Officials fear the death toll could rise significantly, given the wide area swept by the storm. Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said responders have so far focused on “urgent” searches aimed at emergency rescues and initial assessments, which will be followed by two additional waves of searches. First responders who encounter possible remains leave them without confirming it, he said Friday, describing the case of a submerged house as an example. “The water was over the roof, right, but we had a Coast Guard swimmer swim down and he could identify what appeared to be human remains. We don’t know exactly how much,” Guthrie said. Desperate to locate and save their loved ones, social media users shared phone numbers, addresses and photos of their family members and friends online for anyone to check up on. MORE: Part of Sanibel Causeway falls into sea during Ian, cutting off Florida island home to 6.3 thousand A damaged causeway to Sanibel Island is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, near Sanibel Island, Florida. AP Photo/Wilfred Lee Orlando residents returned to flooded homes Friday, pulling up their pants to wade through knee-deep muddy water on their streets. Friends of Ramon Rodriguez dumped ice, bottled water and hot coffee at the entrance to his subdivision, where 10 of 50 homes were flooded and the street looked like a lake. He had no power or food in his home and his car was trapped in the water. “There’s water everywhere,” Rodriguez said. “The situation here is very bad.” University of Central Florida students living in an apartment complex near the Orlando campus arrived to retrieve belongings from their drowned units. Deandra Smith, a nursing student, was sleeping when others evacuated and stayed in her third-floor apartment with her dog. Other students helped her wash away Friday by pushing her through the flooded parking lot on a float. She wasn’t sure if she should return to her parents’ home in South Florida or find a shelter so she could still attend classes. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” he said. RELATED: Hurricane Ian leaves a trail of destruction in Florida, with damage estimates in the billions The devastating storm surge destroyed many older homes on the barrier island of Sanibel, Florida, and punched cracks in its dunes. The taller condominium buildings were intact, but with the lower floor extinguished. Trees and utility poles were strewn everywhere. Municipal rescuers, private groups and the Coast Guard used boats and helicopters Friday to evacuate residents who stayed for the storm and were then cut off from the mainland when an elevated walkway collapsed. Volunteers who went to the island in personal boats helped escort an elderly couple to an area where Coast Guard rescuers airlifted them. Hours after weakening to a tropical storm while crossing the Florida peninsula, Ian regained strength Thursday night over the Atlantic. Ian made landfall in South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). When it hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, it was a powerful Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). After the heaviest rainfall passed through Charleston, Will Salosky examined a large elm tree in front of his home that had fallen across his main street. He noted that the damage could have been much worse. RELATED: Hurricane Ian Could Cause $65 Billion in Damage “If that tree had fallen any other way, it would have been on our house,” Shalosky said. “It’s very scary, quite scary.” In North Carolina, heavy rain and winds swept across the state Friday afternoon. Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents to be cautious as up to 8 inches of rain could fall in some areas, with strong winds. “Hurricane Ian is on our doorstep. Expect torrential rain and strong winds across most of our state,” Cooper said. “Our message today is simple: Be smart and be safe.” In Washington, President Joe Biden said he was directing “every possible action to be taken to save lives and get help to survivors.” “It’s going to take months, years to rebuild,” Biden said. “I just want the people of Florida to know, we see what you’re going through and we’re with you.”
Gomez Licon reported from Punta Gorda, Florida. Associated Press contributors include Terry Spencer and Tim Reynolds in Fort Myers, Florida. Cody Jackson in Tampa, Florida. Freida Frisaro in Miami. Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida. Seth Borenstein in Washington. and Bobby Caina Calvan in New York. ABC News contributed to this report Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
