Coverage on this live blog has ended. Please click here for the latest updates.
President Joe Biden said Hurricane Ian may be responsible for "substantial loss of life" and could end up being the deadliest storm in Florida history.
By Thursday night, the death toll had climbed to 12, although the state has refused to officially comment on deaths.
Nearly 2 million homes and businesses across Florida remained without power after Ian walloped the state as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S.
Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday morning after it slammed into Florida’s southwest coast as a major Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon, bringing winds of 150 mph and life-threatening storm surge. It increased in power back to a hurricane by Thursday evening.
Ian is expected to approach the coast of South Carolina on Friday.
Para información en español de Noticias Telemundo haga click aquí.
Hurricane Ian’s winds strengthen to 85 mph as it moves toward South Carolina
Hurricane Ian’s winds increased to 85 mph as it moved toward an expected landfall on South Carolina’s coast Friday, forecasters said.
At 11:15 p.m. Thursday, maximum sustained winds for the storm were 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, which made the announcement after hurricane hunter aircraft investigated the storm.
Ian was a Category 4 hurricane when it struck Florida, causing what officials say was historic damage. It weakened to a tropical storm before regaining hurricane status over the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.
Its center was about 185 miles south of Charleston and was moving northeast at 10 mph, according to the hurricane center. It is expected to move into South Carolina on Friday, bringing what the weather agency warns is life-threatening storm surge, flooding and strong winds.
As Fort Myers takes stock of Ian’s damage, residents look for reasons to be hopeful
FORT MYERS, Fla. — This was a city Thursday where yachts were parked on the street and hundreds of cars were underwater, thanks to Hurricane Ian and its deadly and destructive force.
The roads that weren’t flooded were lined with disemboweled homes, some stripped of their roofs, and littered with once-proud palm trees torn up by the roots that, in many cases, were snapped like matchsticks.
Many downtown stores were boarded up, while others were reduced to splinters. And at the few gas stations that had reopened, long lines of motorists waited to fill up.
People come to the rescue in the wake of Hurricane Ian
Disney World to reopen Friday as Hurricane Ian passes north
Walt Disney World Resort will resume theme park operations on a phased-in basis starting Friday, the company said in a statement Thursday, as Hurricane Ian moves north.
The Disney Springs shopping area will also reopen Friday, the company said.
“We continue to closely monitor weather conditions as we assess the impact of Hurricane Ian on our property,” it said. “While theme parks and many operating areas remain closed to guests [Thursday], we anticipate weather conditions to improve this evening.”
Naples, Florida, recovering after Hurricane Ian rocked community
Parts of South Carolina could get up to 8 inches of rain
The National Hurricane Center is cautioning residents of the Carolinas that Ian could cause “life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds” Friday.
The storm was about 185 miles from Charleston and moving northeast at 10 mph with sustained winds of 80 mph Thursday night when the center issued its 11 p.m. advisory.
Ian could grow stronger before its landfall, forecasters said. It’s expected to approach the South Carolina coast Friday before it moves inland across the Carolinas into Saturday.
Parts of South Carolina could get up to 8 inches of rain.
Charleston residents told to ‘hunker down’ as Ian threatens
The mayor of South Carolina’s largest city told residents to “hunker down” and to treat Hurricane Ian seriously as it approached with a potential storm surge of up to 7 feet.
“Tomorrow, when this storm is upon us, stay home, stay out of harm’s way,” Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said at a news conference.
Ian, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm after it struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic Ocean as it approached South Carolina’s coast, forecasters said.
The storm was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and its center was about 215 miles south of Charleston at 8 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northeast at 10 mph.
If it strikes South Carolina as a hurricane Friday, Ian will be the first storm to have made landfall in the state as a hurricane since Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
A storm surge warning covered the entire South Carolina coast Thursday evening, and the storm surge for a stretch of coast that includes Charleston could be 4 to 7 feet, the weather agency said.
Low-lying areas of Charleston, including the hospital district, "could see inundation tomorrow," the mayor said.
At least 2 dead on Sanibel Island after Hurricane Ian, official says
At least two people died on Sanibel Island, Florida, after Hurricane Ian struck the region, Sanibel’s city manager said Thursday.
Additional information about the two deaths was not immediately available. The deaths bring the total storm-related fatalities across the state to 12.
The Category 4 storm wrecked a causeway linking Sanibel with Florida’s mainland, with five breaches, officials said.
Officials ferried first responders and workers to the island and removed 12 people who were injured and 40 others who were not injured by boat Thursday, City Manager Dana Souza said in a video briefing.
“You’ve seen the aerial photos and the news reports — on the ground, it’s pretty severe damage,” he said from Fort Myers.
Mayor Holly D. Smith said a storm surge of 8 to 15 feet struck the island. Sanibel normally has a population of around 6,300. She said it is believed about 200 households did not evacuate.
Ian made landfall around 3 p.m. Wednesday near Cayo Costa, which is only around 20 miles from Sanibel, with 150 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.