CHARLESTON, SC — The death toll in Florida from Hurricane Ian rose to 33 late Friday, ABC News reports, as Florida authorities confirmed several drowning and other fatalities late Friday.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the deaths included a 22-year-old woman who was ejected from a notebook Friday due to 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 headed north earlier this week. The death toll was expected to rise substantially as emergency officials had a chance to search many more areas hit by the storm.
Ian made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 85 mph near Georgetown, South Carolina shortly after 2pm on Friday. It was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone hours later.
Click here for live radar and the latest forecast on Ian’s path.
PHOTOS: Disturbing aerial footage shows the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Sanibel Island
Damaged homes and debris are seen after Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
AP Photo/Wilfred Lee
A resurgent Hurricane Ian lashed the South Carolina coast on Friday, destroying docks and flooding neighborhoods with water up to a calf, after the deadly storm caused catastrophic damage in Florida and trapped thousands of people in their homes.
The center of Ian 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 US. While moving through South Carolina, Ian downgraded from a hurricane to a 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 rough waves and washed away. Online cameras showed seawater filling neighborhoods in Garden City up to calf height.
Ian left a wide swath of destruction in Florida, flooding areas on both coasts, tearing homes off their slabs, demolishing beachfront businesses and leaving more than 2 million people without power. At least nine people were confirmed dead in the US, a number expected to rise as officials confirmed more deaths and searched for people.
Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through river streets Thursday to save thousands of people trapped amid flooded homes and destroyed buildings.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that teams had gone door-to-door to more than 3,000 homes in the worst-hit areas.
“It really has been 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 were relying on oxygen machines that stopped working amid the power outages, as well as a 67-year-old man who was waiting to be rescued and water fell on his home , authorities said.
Officials fear the death toll could rise substantially, given the vast territory inundated by the storm.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said officials have so far focused on “rushed” searches, aimed at emergency rescues and initial assessments, which will be followed by two additional waves of searches First responders who come across possible debris are leaving it unconfirmed, he said Friday, citing the case of a submerged house as an example.
“The water was up on the roof to the right, but we had a Coast Guard rescue swimmer go down there and he was able to identify what appeared to be human remains. We don’t know exactly how many,” Guthrie said.
Desperate to locate and rescue their loved ones, social media users shared phone numbers, addresses and photos of their family and friends online for anyone to check.
MORE: Piece of Sanibel Causeway falls into sea during Ian, cutting off Florida island home to 6.3K
A damaged causeway on Sanibel Island is seen after 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 muddy, knee-deep water on their streets. Friends of Ramon Rodriguez left ice, bottled water and hot coffee at the entrance to his subdivision, where 10 of the 50 homes were flooded and the road looked like a lake. He had no electricity or food in his home, and his car was stuck in water.
“There’s water everywhere,” Rodriguez said. “The situation here is pretty bad.”
University of Central Florida students living in an apartment complex near the Orlando campus arrived to retrieve possessions from their water-filled units.
Deandra Smith, a nursing student, was asleep when others evacuated and stayed in her third-floor apartment with her dog. Other students helped her dry off Friday by pushing her across the flooded parking lot on a pontoon. She wasn’t sure if she should return to her parents’ home in South Florida or find shelter so she can still attend classes. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” he said.
RELATED: Hurricane Ian leaves a trail of destruction in Florida, with estimated damage in the billions
The devastating storm surge destroyed many older homes on the barrier island of Sanibel, Florida, and cracked its sand dunes. The tallest condo buildings were intact but with the bottom floor blown out. Trees and utility poles were scattered everywhere.
Municipal rescuers, private crews and the Coast Guard used boats and helicopters Friday to evacuate residents who were caught in the storm and then cut off from the mainland when a causeway collapsed. Volunteers who rode to the island on personal watercraft helped escort an elderly couple to an area where Coast Guard lifeguards took them aboard a helicopter.
Hours after weakening to a tropical storm as it crossed the Florida peninsula, Ian regained strength Thursday evening 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 150 mph (240 km/h).
After the heaviest rain swept through Charleston, Will Shalosky examined a large elm tree in front of his house that had fallen on his downtown street. He noted that the damage could have been much worse.
RELATED: Hurricane Ian could cause $65 billion in damage
“If this tree fell any other way, it would be on our house,” Shalosky said. “It’s pretty scary, pretty distressing.”
In North Carolina, bands of heavy rain and winds moved across the state Friday afternoon. Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents to be vigilant, as some areas could see up to 8 inches (20.3 centimeters) of rain, with strong winds.
“Hurricane Ian is on our doorstep. Expect heavy rain and strong sustained 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 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 stand with you.”
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Gomez Licon reported from Punta Gorda, Florida; Associated Press contributors include Terry Spencer and Tim Reynolds in Fort Myers, Fla.; 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
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