September 29, 2022 Hurricane Ian updates

A view of a flooded community in Fort Myers, Florida on Thursday.

Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian he is already thinking about how to rebuild — starting with making sure people have enough food and water.

The city’s downtown area has seen substantial damage including flooding as well as downed trees and power lines, Anderson said.  

“This is a downtown that we have taken the last several decades to rebuild and revitalize,” Anderson said. “It concerns me that a lot of those businesses affected will go dark.”

Meanwhile, most of the main roads in Fort Myers have been cleared and emergency teams have been able to reach many affected areas, he said.

Hurricane Ian’s impact has “been a worst-case scenario for us here in Osceola County,” Bill Litton, Osceola County‘s Emergency Management director, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Thursday evening.

Litton said the city of Kissimmee – 18 miles south of Orlando – saw a historic amount of flooding as the storm passed through Central Florida.

Parts of Kissimmee that have never seen flooding are covered in water while other areas saw around 14 inches Thursday, Litton told CNN.

“One of our hospitals here, Osceola Regional — which is a trauma two-level center — was surrounded by water this morning. Our rescues could not make entry,” Litton said.

The water has since receded at that hospital; however, Litton said flood waters entered the emergency room of another hospital this morning. He did not provide the name of that hospital.

Litton told CNN that crews have also been working to help rescue people from flood waters.

Kissimmee has a population of nearly 80,000 people, according to the US Census.

Homes are flooded in Port Charlotte on Thursday.

Hurricane Ian’s rainfall was at least 10% wetter because of climate change, according to a rapid analysis released Thursday by scientists at Stony Brook University and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The analysis used the same methodology as a recent peer-reviewed study that looked at the influence of climate change on the 2020 hurricane season.

Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley who ran the analysis, noted that the physical relationship between air temperature and water vapor would suggest that Hurricane Ian’s rainfall should have only been around 5% higher due to climate warming.

“This means that the storms are more efficient at precipitating the available moisture,” Wehner said in a statement. He also cautioned that their result is a “conservative estimate.”

Orlando International Airport remains closed.

Seven of the 11 Florida airports that closed or suspended commercial service due to Hurricane Ian are scheduled to reopen by the end of the day Friday, according to CNN’s tally.  

Jacksonville International Airport is one of those, according to a tweet.

Some airlines are expected to be operating on reduced schedules, according to the airport, and travelers are encouraged to check flight their statuses before heading to the terminal. 

However, the state’s busiest airport, Orlando International, said it does not have a timeline to reopen yet.

It said Thursday afternoon that damage inspections are underway. The airport did not immediately report the nature of any damage discovered during the assessments. 

“Due to the extent of the storm, no timeframe has been selected for when MCO will return to normal operations,” the airport said.  

The Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers — a place heavily hit by Ian — will also remain closed except to emergency personnel and humanitarian flights, according to a statement. 

Ian has intensified into a hurricane again with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the 5 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Ian is located about 240 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, and is moving toward the north-northeast at 10 mph. 

Some intensification is expected with Ian over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, but it is expected to remain a Category 1 storm.

Storm surge is anticipated to reach between 4 to 7 feet in South Carolina from Edisto Beach to Murrells Inlet, including Charleston.

Ian’s large wind field is expected to produce impacts well away from the center, and the forecast track has more uncertainty than normal because of the storm is disorganized after passing over Florida. 

Hurricane Ian is taking aim at the Carolinas, with forecasts predicting the storm could hit parts of the East Coast on Friday.

Here are the current watches and warnings in effect:

Storm surge warning:

Hurricane warning:

Tropical storm warning:

Storm surge watch:

Hurricane watch:

The Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers remains closed except to emergency personnel and humanitarian flights, according to a statement. 

airport initially canceled all flights on Tuesday ahead of the storm.

Read the tweet:

South Carolina and Georgia’s coastlines could be significantly impacted by storm system Ian, according to a new US Geological Survey coastal change forecast released on Thursday. 

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center forecast that newly strengthened Hurricane Ian would hit the South Carolina coast as a Category 1 storm on Friday. Storm surge is anticipated to reach between 4 to 7 feet in South Carolina from Edisto Beach to Murrells Inlet, including Charleston, it said.

USGS researchers are forecasting the waves and surges caused by Ian may cause 11% of South Carolina’s and 1% of Georgia’s dunes along sandy beaches to be inundated — meaning continuously covered by ocean water. 

In addition, approximately 43% of South Carolina’s and 24% of Georgia’s dunes along sandy beaches are expected to be overwashed by Ian. Overwash is considered the second most severe level of coastal damage, taking place when water levels reach higher than the top of dunes.

“When a beach is overwashed, sand can be pushed and deposited inland, causing significant changes to coastal landscapes and blocking roadways,” the USGS said. “Overwash can reduce the height of protective sand dunes, alter beach profiles and leave areas behind the dunes more vulnerable to future storms.” 

In South Carolina 99% of the dunes and in Georgia 77% of dunes are projected to face some level of erosion caused by Ian, the USGS said. Erosion at the base of sand dunes is considered the least severe level of storm damage on sandy shorelines. 

All non-emergency lines at the Marco Island police department are down following Hurricane Ian’s move through Florida’s west coast.

In a statement posted Thursday, officials asked residents to be patient.

The statement advised residents to call Collier County dispatchers at 239-252-9300 if they want to request a welfare check on loved ones.  

It added that residents should keep in mind that neighbors in Collier and Lee Counties are in much more need of urgent services. 

Marco Island, a barrier island south of Naples, has a population of around 16,000, according to the US Census.

Lee Health, a large hospital system in Lee County, is evacuating more than 1,000 patients because it doesn’t have water and it’s not clear when the water supply will be restored, said Mary Mayhew, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Hospital Association.

There are teams of state officials that are helping transfer patients, according to Mayhew, and “that process is underway.”

Most hospitals in Florida were not damaged when Ian barreled through as a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday because of preparations and “work that they’ve done to harden their facilities against the threat of hurricanes,” Mayhew said.

Hospitals were prepared with generators and fuel, so there aren’t any concerns about disruption to power, Mayhew said. But the lack of water is a problem. 

About 1,200 patients were at Lee Health before the hurricane. Mayhew said the hospitals had yet to see people injured in the storm “because the search and rescue operations couldn’t begin until it became safe to be out on the roads.”

A state of emergency has been declared in Charleston County, South Carolina, as residents prepare for the impact of a strengthening Ian. 

The Charleston County Council noted that the county “has moved operations to OPCON 1 meaning a disaster or emergency is imminent,” according to a media release.

Charleston County, which includes the city of Charleston, and has a population of about 413,000, according to the US Census Bureau.

Ian is expected to intensify from a tropical storm into a hurricane by the time it hits South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about efforts to “stabilize and restore” infrastructure and power in affected communities, during a Thursday afternoon news conference from Charlotte County,  

“We were able to fly out here. The airport is operational,” said DeSantis. “We were happy to see the interstates flowing,” the governor added.  

DeSantis said he understands the rebuilding efforts are just beginning and that much more needed to be done.

The governor noted the utter devastation that hit some areas. 

A home burns on Sanibel Island on Thursday.

“Sanibel is destruction,” he said, referring to the island off the coast of Fort Myers.  He described the impact, which washed away three sections of the Sanibel Causeway, as a “really Biblican storm surge.”  

“We’re committed to restoring the infrastructure as needed. That is not going to be an overnight task,” said DeSantis.  

Florida Power & Light has a key role in helping the state recover, the governor said.  

A section of the Sanibel Causeway was washed away.

DeSantis was joined by First Lady Casey DeSantis, President of Florida Power & Light Eric Silagy, Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie, and others.  

Silagy said FPL has about 20,000 crews across the state. 

“We have 1.2 million customers who are out of power, but we have been able to restore over 700,000 customers before the storm even left the state,” Silagy said.  

People paddle in a canoe near a submerged vehicle in Orlando, Florida on Thursday.

As the remnants of Tropical Storm Ian pass, officials in Orlando are warning residents that flooding in parts of the city remains very serious.

“We are seeing historic levels of flooding. In some areas, we had 11 inches. In other areas we had 15,” said Orlando Fire Department Chief Charlie Salazar at a news briefing Thursday.

Standing water is still electrified in some areas, he warned.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the flood waters may remain for some time. “Unfortunately the only way the water is going to go down is to recede naturally,” he said.

More than 1,500 cell sites across Florida have been knocked offline due to Hurricane Ian — representing nearly 11% statewide, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  

The damage varies by county, with some areas such as Lee County, where Ian made landfall, is reporting a loss of service at more than 65% of cell sites, according to a daily FCC report assessing the hurricane’s impact on communications services. 

Other Florida counties with half or more of their cell sites out of operation include Charlotte, Hardee, Hendry and Highlands. 

Loss of cell sites does not necessarily imply a loss of wireless service as network providers such as Verizon have readied mobile cell sites and generators to provide backup connectivity in response to the storm, the FCC said.

If communication is impacted, the National Weather Service said there are some things to keep in mind. This includes reaching out to people through text messages or email instead of making phone calls. These calls can cause the network to become congested.

Read more:

Recovery from the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian will take weeks, if not months, according to Naples city officials.

At a news conference Thursday, city manager Jay Boodheshwar said the damage is widespread.

City Property damage is coming in at an estimate of $20 million, he said. But the value of property damage has not yet been assessed, although a conservative estimate puts the total at $200 million or more. 

According to Fire Chief Pete DiMaria, who also spoke at the briefing, search and rescues are still being conducted and residents are urged not to call 911 unless it’s an emergency. 

A curfew that was put in place Wednesday is no longer in effect, but officials warned people to stay off the roads because many of them are still hazardous.

A boil water notice remains in effect, according to Boodheshwar, who said the water treatment facility is operating but there are pressure issues. Crews are continuing to search for breaks and leaks throughout the system. 

He is urging residents to use bottled water and boil water when cooking. 

The Walt Disney Company says Disney World operations in Orlando will begin reopening on Friday as Tropical Storm Ian moves out of the area.

Disney says exact hours of operation Friday will be updated later.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is urging people in his state to prepare for Tropical Storm Ian which is forecasted to impact the East Coast after leaving Florida.

“In recent hours Ian has reminded us of the dangerous unpredictability of these storms as its track continues to change,” Cooper said at a media conference Thursday afternoon.  

Cooper said North Carolina residents can expect to feel the effects of the storm by tomorrow.  

Coastal flooding, heavy rain, and gusty winds are also likely as this storm passes through, according to Cooper.  

In addition to weather, the governor said there is a potential for power outages over the weekend.

Cooper declared a state of emergency this week and has activated members of the state’s national guard to help with storm response, along with the state’s emergency operations center.

Damaged boats are seen between downtown condominiums in Fort Myers, Florida on Thursday.

The scale of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian in Florida is only today coming into focus.

This is what we know so far:

Casualties: At least 15 people have died in connection with Hurricane Ian, but the final toll of deaths and injuries is not known yet.

President Biden said it could be the “deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history.”

Power outages: Over 2.6 million customers are without power across Florida. In the hardest-hit southwestern region, Hardee County, nearly 100% of customers remain without power. In Lee County, Charlotte County, and Desoto County, about 89% of all customers are in the dark.

Use these tips to stay safe while using a generator.

Damage:

Rescues: Emergency responders are working to reach those who may still be trapped by flooding or damage.

Teams from Orange County made rescues for people and pets in waist-high water.

Over 3,000 nursing home residents have been evacuated as well.

Ian’s path: The tropical storm is expected to strengthen back into a hurricane over the warm Atlantic Ocean before hitting South Carolina. The entire coast of South Carolina is under a hurricane warning.

Track the storm here.

National response: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Thursday that he’s activated the department’s surge capacity workforce to deploy more personnel to respond to Hurricane Ian.

More than 5,000 National Guardsmen from multiple states are positioned to assist hard-hit communities.

President Biden said he will visit Florida when conditions allow for it.

As of 2 p.m. ET, more than 500 people have been rescued in Charlotte and Lee Counties, the Florida Department of Emergency Management said in a tweet.

All were rescued since operations began Thursday morning and are still ongoing, the tweet said. 

It is unknown the condition of those rescued or if any had to be hospitalized.

See the tweet:

Damaged buildings are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Florida on Thursday.

Dan Allers, a council member in Fort Myers Beach, described devastation at a level “that no one really anticipated or expected” as he walked through the area Thursday after it was pounded by Hurricane Ian.

He said that he’s aware of at least three deaths reported in the town located on Florida’s Estero Island. 

Allers did not know the total number of fatalities.  

He estimated that 90% of the island is gone, including businesses that had been there for decades and had weathered several hurricanes.

“When I say gone, it’s not just the insides of the houses — it’s brick homes, it’s houses that were on stilts, wood homes,” Allers said. “It’s gone.”

Most of the streets are blocked off by debris and homes that have been uprooted and moved by the storm, according to Allers. He said some houses on the beach side of the main thoroughfare have broken away and fallen into the Gulf of Mexico.

“Essentially if your home is not built out of concrete, to FEMA standards over the last five years, it’s pretty much gone. There’s literally nothing to come back to,” Allers said.

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Alex White and her daughter Stella decided to wait out the flooding – and although the water is rising Thursday around their Orlando-area home, she has no regrets.

Standing outside her front door, she admitted she has never seen this much water.

“The level that it’s at right now is very surprising,” White said, noting that it has risen very quickly over the past few hours.

But she feels pretty good about staying put. “I feel really good seeing the boats and things going by and the rescue people started checking in on everybody pretty early, so that was super comforting,” she said.

“Currently we’re still fine, we’re just hunkering down waiting to hear when things are going to start going back down when the power’s going to start coming back,” White said.

White added that neighbors who also decided to stay are checking in on one another. The biggest concern among residents is their vehicles, “because our cars are shot,” she said.

More than 2.6 million people across Florida are still without power Thursday and officials are warning people to take precautions when firing up portable generators.

Generators can be immensely helpful for storm victims without power. They can also be deadly when used incorrectly.

“Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the leading causes of death after storms in areas dealing with power outages,” the National Weather Service said. There is also a risk of electrocution or the generator starting a fire, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

Here are some other tips to keep in mind, according to the National Hurricane Center:

A man helps a woman among debris at a downtown condominium in Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday.

Liston Bochette, mayor pro tempore and city council member of Fort Myers, said the powerful Category 4 Hurricane Ian “shredded the community.”

“Large parts have no electricity, large parts have no water. And even the sewer systems — the computers that process — are down,” Bochette told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.

“Florida depends on storage tanks,” he said. “When we don’t have the generators to drive the tanks, it cuts off drinking water, washing water. And then with the sewage problem, it will only become a bacterial problem.”

“We’re hoping the cavalry will ride over the hill and help us out here. … The computer system, city hall failed, the generators failed, the Internet, and the backup internet companies both failed. So we got quite a communication problem just letting people know what to do,” Bochette said.

But teams are working hard at the central emergency center, he said. “We’re doing the best we can in a bad situation,” he said.

Rescuers evacuate residents from an assisted living facility in Orlando on Thursday.

About 40 Florida nursing homes have been evacuated due to Hurricane Ian, according to the Florida Health Care Association.

“As of this morning, there have been about 40 nursing home evacuations, approximately 3400 residents,” spokesperson Kristen Knapp said in an email to CNN. “Most are in the low lying areas where counties have issued evacuation orders, others are in areas where concerns over flooding are occurring.”

The Florida Health Care Association is an advocacy organization representing long-term care providers.   

In southwest Florida, approximately 15 to 20 facilities are without power but have generators operating and minimal damage. 

“We are still watching the central/east coast as the storm moves through and the potential for flooding is the most concerning. Facilities will work with their local emergency managers if there are immediate concerns, since all emergencies are local and that is the most effective way to get critical needs met,” Knapp said. 

CNN’s Don Lemon joined a group of first responders on a boat conducting water rescues in Orlando — and they said they made dozens of rescues on Thursday.

One of the challenges during rescues is that they don’t always know what’s under the water, the lieutenant said.

“Part of the big issues that we had is navigating these waters. Even though we know we’re in a neighborhood and you know the streets dictate where we go. You know, we’ve gotten hidden mailboxes, culverts,” he said.

The area where they were operating is prone to flooding, but “this is the highest it’s ever been,” the lieutenant said.

He added, “It happened about some five years ago and these three lakes, these small lakes, they join together by small canals, they crested sometime early this morning and this whole area here is a super low-lying area, this one and the neighborhood we were at this morning, which was all single-family dwellings, completely devastated, completely under water.”

The water was 6-8 feet deep on Thursday, the first responders said.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis cautioned those affected by Hurricane Ian to be wary of insurance scammers.

“The predators … [will] initially try to sign up construction management contracts, public adjusters. They’re going to come in like a bunch of locusts, and they’re going to try to hit the neighborhoods, and people are vulnerable right now,” Patronis said in Punta Gorda during a briefing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“That first phone call that you’re going to make needs be to your agent, your carrier, or to my office,” he advised people who have suffered damage to their homes.

Patronis said the state will probably have 20 to 25 carriers that will initially be in RVs to give out living expense funding.

Hurricane Ian left a fire station in hard-hit Naples, Florida, submerged in water, but it didn’t stop crews from making rescues in the community Thursday, the department’s fire chief said.

“It got us quick,” Chief Pete DiMaria told CNN, describing the moment storm surge flooded the first responders’ base of operations.

Video shows firefighters wading through knee- and waist-deep water in the station’s garage, moving around the fire trucks and checking on which equipment still functioned.

“We couldn’t get our vehicles out of the station fast enough. We had to shelter in place for a little while,” DiMaria said.

The fire chief said emergency calls came to the station while crews were still stuck inside, a frustrating and unnerving experience.

Naples Fire-Rescue Department crews help rescue a stranded motorist in Naples, Florida, on Thursday.

The department eventually got most of its equipment working and sent rescue teams out on the streets to find people in need, including a woman they pulled from a car stuck in floodwater.

The fire chief said the storm surge has largely receded and that many roads have now been cleared. The department plans to sweep the streets and check on neighbors again before dark.

Tropical Storm Ian threatens another blow to air travel as it moves up the east coast and away from the Florida panhandle, where airports are assessing conditions and determining when service can safely resume.

Flight cancelations are about to surpass those of Wednesday — the worst day for US flight cancelations of the last six months, FlightAware data shows Thursday. As of 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, airlines have canceled more than 2,000 flights in the US and have already canceled more than a thousand flights on Friday.

“Tropical storm Ian is moving off of Florida into the Atlantic and is expected to turn northwest and make landfall again in the Carolinas tomorrow,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, saying passengers should check on the status of their flights with the airlines. 

Here’s a look at how some airlines are impacted:

Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport anticipates reopening by late Friday, CEO Rick Piccolo told CNN. He watched from his office as the storm pulled apart the airport’s roof. “While we won’t look as pretty as we used to because the ceiling’s all gone, we’ll be functional,” he said.    

Tampa International Airport officials said an inspection Thursday morning “determined TPA did not sustain any serious damage during the storm.” It expects “high passenger volumes” when it reopens at 10 a.m. on Friday. The airport is “very lucky to have come out on the other side of this largely unscathed,” airport CEO Joe Lopano said in a statement.  

Melbourne Orlando International Airport – one of the smaller commercial airports in Florida with service from Allegiant, American and Delta — said it plans to reopen Friday morning.

CEO James Parish said Punta Gorda Airport experienced “extensive” damage to hangars at the airport and does not have power in the passenger terminal. Once power is restored, the airport will make plans to restore service from Allegiant Air, he added.

All the bridges to Pine Island, Florida, have failed, meaning the barrier island is inaccessible by car, Lee County manager Roger Desjarlais said during a briefing Thursday afternoon.

There were also five structural failures on the Sanibel causeway because of Hurricane Ian. 

The curfew in Lee County — which includes the cities of Cape Coral and Fort Myers — that began last night at 6 p.m. ET remains in effect, Desjarlais said.  

Desjarlais participated in a helicopter tour of damage Thursday morning and said the greatest damage the county suffered appears to have occurred on Fort Myers Beach after storm surge levels reached 10 feet. 

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the area looks like it was hit “by a very large tornado.” He said “there are no words to describe what we got to see,” during the helicopter tour. 

Marceno said his team has been involved in “dozens of rescues made in waist-high water” and he urged residents to stay home.  

“If you don’t have to be out, don’t be out,” Marceno said. 

Six fatalities have been confirmed in Charlotte County, Florida, County Commissioner Chris Constance told CNN Thursday afternoon. 

Constance did not have any more information to add regarding these people or regarding the number of people still unaccounted for. He did not have information on where in the county the fatalities were reported.

Constance said four shelters had to be evacuated due to structural damage sustained during Hurricane Ian and there is no running water in much of the county.

As the federal government pours resources into the emergency response in Florida, President Joe Biden said his administration has not forgotten the victims of Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico.

“I am committed to you and the recovery of the island. We’ll stand by you for however long it takes to get it done,” he added.

Biden said the federal government is working around the clock to get people to safety and restore power, water and phone lines across the island.

The President also said, when asked, that it’s his “intention,” to visit Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico as a Category 1 storm on Sept. 18, dropping record rainfall, unleashing landslides and mudslides, flooding neighborhoods and leaving most of the island without power or water.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday approved a federal waiver opening up the potential for additional diesel to be shipped to Puerto Rico.

CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Jasmine Wright and Sam Fossum contributed to this report.

Sunday night’s NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be played as scheduled in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Following the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, the Buccaneers released a statement on Thursday confirming the game would not be moved out of Florida.

“We have informed the NFL, after consulting with local and state agencies, that we are ready to play Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium as originally scheduled

The game is slated to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET.

“We would like to thank all of the local government agencies and the thousands of emergency personnel who worked tirelessly over the past few days to ensure that our area would be ready to respond if needed. We would also like to acknowledge the Miami Dolphins organization for their assistance and hospitality in allowing us to use their practice facilities this week,” the statement read.

The Bucs gave appreciation to those who have been helping the cause following Hurricane Ian.

“We also want to express our sincere appreciation to the first responders and emergency personnel who are already battling the elements, saving lives, and helping our neighbors in those most impacted areas to our south,” they said.

On Wednesday, the NFL’s executive vice president Jeff Miller said that if the game needed to be moved, US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis would host as the contingency site.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay has reopened, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

“The Skyway Bridge has been reopened to traffic in both directions as wind speeds have dropped to 30 MPH. Motorists may cross the span, but are asked to use caution due to debris along the highway shoulders,” the patrol tweeted Thursday.

The bridge closed earlier this week ahead of Hurricane Ian, which slammed into southwest Florida.

At least 2,655,765 Florida energy customers are still without power, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

In the hardest-hit southwestern region, Hardee County, nearly 100% of customers remain without power. 

In Lee County, Charlotte County, and Desoto County, about 89% of all customers are in the dark.

Damaged homes and debris are seen in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday.

Residents of Fort Myers are now seeing firsthand the destruction that Hurricane Ian left in its wake.

The powerful storm splintered homes and businesses, washed out parts of roads and spewed debris around the area.

Jake Moses, left, and Heather Jones of Fort Myers explore a section of destroyed businesses at Fort Myers Beach on Thursday.

A causeway to Sanibel Island is seen damaged on Thursday.

People survey damage to their home in Valrico, Florida.

Vince Wright walks through the remains of homes in Fort Myers Beach.

A structure burns in Fort Myers, Florida.

Boats are seen piled up around damaged structures in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

Debris lies among damaged homes in Fort Myers Beach.

Damaged boats and debris rest against the shore in Fort Myers.

View more photos in CNN’s gallery here.

The aftermath of Hurricane Ian is seen at Fort Myers Beach on Thursday.

Fort Myers, Florida, Mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN that the destruction from Hurricane Ian to his city is devastating.

Anderson said there have been no reported deaths in Fort Myers so far.

The water has subsided, so a massive cleanup is underway.

He urged people to stay inside.

“I have never seen a storm that has caused so much damage in this area before,” Anderson said.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Thursday that he’s activated the department’s surge capacity workforce to deploy more personnel to respond to Hurricane Ian.

“This is not just a here today, gone tomorrow. We are here, as the President articulated, throughout the need for full recovery,” Mayorkas added. 

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell warned Hurricane Ian will continue to be life-threatening as it moves into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

“America woke up this morning to images like Naples, Punta Gorda and Cape Coral submerged under water, homes across Fort Myers that have been torn from their foundations and boats that have bene fond blocks away from where they were moored, but hurricane Ian is still a very life-threatening storm,” Criswell said. 

The Naples, Florida, pier sustained significant damage but is not gone, according to a post on the city of Naples Facebook page.  

A separate post said that the curfew in Naples was lifted at noon but the beaches remain closed. “The roads are still hazardous with many still flooded,” the post said. 

A precautionary boil water notice is also in effect. 

President Joe Biden issued a stern warning to oil and gas executives, telling them not to use the storm as an excuse to jack up prices.

The administration estimates Ian will disrupt the supply of about 160,000 barrels of oil each day, representing roughly 2% of the country’s daily production, according to Biden.

“This small and temporary impact on oil production provides no excuse, no excuse, for price increases at the pump. Period,” the President continued. “If the gas station companies try to use this storm to raise prices, I’m going to ask — I’m going to ask officials to look into whether or not price gouging is going on.

“America is watching and the industry should do the right thing. I expect them to do the right thing,” he added.

President Joe Biden announced that he will visit Florida as the state reels from devastation and damage wrecked by Hurricane Ian.

While he did not mention a date, he said he will visit “when the conditions allow it” and “so we don’t get in the way” of restoration work.

While thanking the droves of emergency responders and crews helping in Florida’s restoration efforts, he said, “I’m going to be going to Florida to thank them personally.”

Biden also said that his conversation with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was “very fine,” and that he will meet with him if he wants when the President visits the state to survey damage. 

Assistance for Florida: Biden detailed the federal assistance sent to Florida, and thanked FEMA personnel for their round-the-clock work in the face of such emergencies. “FEMA is always there. You deserve the nation’s gratitude and full support,” he said.

“We’ve dispatched over 1,000 FEMA personnel and pre-positioned major federal capacities and capabilities and supplies. That includes millions of liters of water, millions of meals, and hundreds of generators. We’ve deployed dozens of search and rescue teams, along with high-water vehicles and rescue helicopters to help get survivors to safety,” he said.

“Thousands of National Guard members have been activated. Under my direction, the Department of Defense is providing surge capacity on multiple fronts in support of FEMA’s efforts,” he added.

He urged Floridians to be cautious as Tropical Storm Ian still remains dangerous, and obey the warnings from local officials.

CNN’s Jasmine Wright and Sam Fossum contributed reporting to this post.

Florida’s Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told CNN that the county was hit “incredibly hard” by Hurricane Ian.

“We were incredibly hard hit. It came in as a strong, strong Cat 4, just a couple of miles an hour under a Cat 5,” Marceno said. “Today was the first day we were able to get back out and assess and begin that process.”

Marceno added, “The Fort Myers Beach area, buildings, major, major homes and buildings completely washed away with vehicles in the water, vehicles in the bay, boats are upside down.”

He said that while there is no definitive number on how many people remain unaccounted for, all hands are on deck, and they are responding to every location where there are people in need.

More than 5,000 National Guardsmen from multiple states are positioned to assist communities that have been impacted by Hurricane Ian in southwest and central Florida, according to a release from the National Guard.

National Guard members from Florida, Louisiana, New York and Tennessee are “standing by to provide direct support in the wake of the catastrophic storm,” Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Daniel Hokanson said in the release. Tennessee National Guard mobilized about 1,200 Guard members to be sent to Florida, the release said. 

Guardsmen from Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, South Carolina, Montana and Virginia are also “on the way” to help, the release added.

The Guard is “working closely with local authorities to ensure the right people and equipment’ are in the right place “to maximize impact,” Hokanson said.

Sixteen helicopters, 1,640 high-wheeled vehicles, seven boats, 36 fuel tankers and generators are positioned in the state ready to help “conduct search and rescue operations, clear roads, and support law enforcement,” according to the release.

President Biden said the federal government will cover 100% of the cost that the state of Florida incurs for its emergency response efforts related to Hurricane Ian.

Biden noted that he approved GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request for expedited major disaster declaration during his remarks from FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC, Thursday.

“First thing this morning, I talked to Gov. Desantis and again offered the fullest federal support. Earlier this week I approved his request for the pre-landfall emergency declaration to provide direct federal assistance to the state, for emergency protective measures to save lives, including search and rescue and shelter and food. Earlier this morning I approved the governor’s most recent request for expedited major disaster declaration,” Biden said.

President Joe Biden spoke Thursday about the havoc that Hurricane Ian wrecked in Florida after it made landfall on Wednesday.

Biden said he spoke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, mayors and the commissioner, who, he said, are worried, but the President commended them for the “incredible” jobs they’re doing to “save their cities, their towns” and their infrastructure.

Biden also issued a message for Floridians.

“My message to people in Florida, at times like this: America comes together. We’re going to pull together as one team, as one America,” he said.

President Biden is delivering remarks as Florida is reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Devastation in some parts is impeding the restoration and recovery work.

Water engulfs entire neighborhoods in Cape Coral after Hurricane Ian pummeled Florida’s southwestern coast on Wednesday into Thursday, CNN Air drone video shows.

Emergency teams also conducted rescues.

Watch it here:

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Two bridges in the city of Sarasota, Florida, have opened to the barrier islands, according to the city’s social media.

The city noted that water and sewer service have not been restored and residents should plan accordingly.

Residents in mainland Sarasota are now allowed to return to their homes after the devastation of Hurricane Ian, the city posted in another Facebook.

Sarasota Police posted a photo showing a long lines of cars waiting to get to the islands. 

The county said they are using a Red/Yellow/Green level system to inform residents about the conditions across the area. Red areas are “unsafe” and have suffered “extensive damage limiting travel.” Yellow areas do not have power and have damage and debris. Green areas are considered safe for the general public. 

The map shows Sarasota County split with the north half in yellow and the south half in red. No area of the county is currently green.

View the map here:

Cuban officials on Thursday raised the number of dead from Hurricane Ian to three people, the state-run website Cubadebate reported.

Previously, Cuban officials had said two people died during the storm as it made landfall in Cuba. 

There was no further information provided on how the third victim died. 

Although Cuban officials said they had begun to restore power knocked out in Cuba by Ian, large swathes of the island remained without electricity.

As Fort Myers reels in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, huge chunks of sea wall and other debris can be seen on the streets after the flooding subsided from the downtown area.

“We are a few blocks off the water. So that’s how far this traveled … in the water. And you can imagine the force that it would have taken for this kind of piece of stone to move,” CNN correspondent Randi Kaye said as she came across several chunks of the sea wall that were waist-high and sometimes, even bigger.

Take a look at the devastation in downtown Fort Myers:

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Recording flooding is already happening in central and northern Florida due to Hurricane Ian as torrential rainfall swells area rivers, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The flood waters are expected to rise further, as well as stretch well beyond the state’s borders in the coming days.

Currently there are 15 river gauge locations in Florida at or above flood stage, nine of those are at major flood stage, and three have reached all-time records. 

For most of these locations it will take at least 3 to 5 days before water levels return below major flood stage, and one week before they return to “normal levels”. 

Nearly 50 locations along dozens of rivers spanning 8 states are expected to reach flood stage, according to CNN analyses of NOAA and USGS flood forecasts.

As Ian moves up the East Coast widespread rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches are expected from Savannah, Georgia to Ocean City, Maryland, with isolated higher amounts of 6 to 8 inches possible.

At least 2,617,257 Florida energy customers are still without power, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

In Hardee County, nearly 100% of customers are without power.

In Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral, and Charlotte County, home to Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, about 89% of all customers are in the dark.

In DeSoto County, which includes the city of Hernando, about 92% of customers lost power.

High floodwaters can be seen surrounding homes in US Coast Guard photos from a flight over Sanibel Island, which is located southwest of Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

Portions of the Sanibel Causeway, which connects the island to the mainland, have been washed away, according to aerial video from CNN affiliates.

The US Coast Guard has already performed 28 rescues since they went out in the early hours of the morning today, looking for people who may be in distress, Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, a US Coast Guard commander, told CNN Thursday.

Most of these were along the coast from Fort Myers to St. Petersburg, he said, adding that Fort Myers rescues were both maritime rescues as well as roof rescues.

The Coast Guard has eight helicopters currently in the air, “blanketing” the southwest of Florida, he said, looking for people who may be in distress.

“Right now, we’re responding to a distress call in Lakeland, Florida, which is between St. Petersburg and Orlando … they’ve had a lot of rain and flooding in that area,” he said. “We’ve sent a helicopter up there to respond to a report of six people on a roof that need rescuing.” 

Tampa International Airport will resume commercial operations at 10 a.m. ET Friday, according to a news release.   

“TPA did not sustain any serious damage during the storm,” the release said. Airport maintenance and operations staff inspected the airfield and facilities Thursday morning.  

The airport suspended operations at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday ahead of Ian’s landfall. 

Damaged homes and debris are seen in Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday.

The City of Fort Myers, which sustained major damage from Hurricane Ian, is reminding residents not to go outside, as a stay-at-home curfew is in effect.

One fatality has been confirmed in Osceola County, Florida, after Hurricane Ian, Emergency Management Director Bill Litton told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Thursday morning. 

The individual who died was in hospice, according to Litton. He did not provide a cause of death.

Osceola County is seeing unprecedented flooding, with Kissimmee-area hospitals and airports are surrounded by water, he said.

Litton said he’s concerned about the approximate 14 inches of rain that parts of the county have received. 

State resources are now coming in from the National Guard, he added. 

“It’s definitely a historical event here,” Litton said. “If you’re safe and secure, please stay put right now, as we work through these issues with these flooded residents.” 

Naples is receiving patients from hospitals in Fort Myers, Teresa Heitmann, mayor of Naples, Florida, said on CNN Thursday.

She described the effect of Ian in Naples as “catastrophic, devastating.”

She expressed confidence in her teams and said, Naples “will recover quickly” with residents “safe and sound.”

Hillsborough County has lifted its evacuation order and is preparing to conclude sheltering operations, according to a news release from Hillsborough County.

Those whose homes have been damaged are encouraged to find a place to stay, which could be “with family, friends, or at a nearby hotel,” according to the release.

MacDill Air Force Base remains closed, according to the release, and the base is assessing damages. 

A satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Ian moving over the east coast of Florida into the Atlantic on Thursday at 11:06 a.m. ET.

Tropical Storm Ian is intensifying once again as it moves over the Atlantic Ocean, and forecasters expect it to become a hurricane later today off the coast of northeast Florida.

The National Hurricane Center reported maximum winds of 70 mph in its 11 a.m. ET advisory, making Ian a high-end tropical storm and close to hurricane-strength.

The storm is moving north and the NHC projects landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in South Carolina Friday.

Given the increased forecast, a hurricane warning has been issued for the entire coast of South Carolina from the Savannah River to Little River Inlet.

Currently, tropical storm-force winds cover nearly 600 miles from the storm, stretching from West Palm Beach, Florida up to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team is making rescues after Hurricane Ian caused flooding and damage to the area.

“Water is at least waist deep in Orlo Vista,” according to the sheriff’s office. The community is outside Orlando.

“When the OCSO Emergency Response Team goes out after a major storm, they ride in our High-Water Rescue Vehicle. This vehicle can safely drive through large pools of water and over storm debris,” it said.

Debris litters a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, which is located in Charlotte County, Florida, on Thursday.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that the worst-case scenario that was forecast did not come true,” Patrick Fuller, Charlotte County Emergency Management Director told members of the media Thursday. “But there is damage throughout the county that we are continuing to assess.”

“It’ll be some time before the full scope of damage is known,” he added. 

Charlotte County is just north of Fort Myers and Lee County, which took landfall of Category 4 Hurricane Ian. 

Fuller said he thinks the slight track shift before landfall spared his county.

The sheriff’s office has done flights to understand initial damage. Fuller said there is considerable debris in the roadway, damage to homes, flooding and downed trees and power lines. 

The flights also went over barrier islands in the county, Fuller said. “The integrity of the homes is far better than we anticipated, but we have rescue crews and federal and state assets whose main priority is to ensure that they gain access to those islands.”

A helicopter flies over part of Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday.

Lee County, Florida, officials in an update on Thursday said that Urban Search and Rescue crews from local agencies are “actively engaged in search and rescue efforts” after Hurricane Ian.

Teams are “assessing infrastructure and structural damage and intensifying other response and recovery efforts” following the impacts of Ian, which caused “catastrophic damage” throughout the county.

The Florida State Emergency Operations Center is helping expedite rescues, and Florida Urban Search and Rescue Task Force units will help first responders get to those in need, the county said.

According to the update, 98% of the county is currently without power, and officials expect it will be an “extended power-outage event.” 

Additionally, the county said many utilities are without water and under boil water notices. Residents who are unable to boil water due to lack of power are asked to use bottled water or purify their water first.

Law enforcement and the Lee County Department of Transportation are on scene at the Sanibel Causeway and in the Matlacha area, where the county said “extensive damage” occurred, and bridge inspectors are assessing bridges across the county.

All 15 shelters remain open, and Lee County Emergency Management is working on increasing food and water supplies for those displaced by flooding or structural damage, it said.

Dozens of homes are still underwater and many more buildings are badly damaged in the Fort Myers area this morning, according to new photos released by the US Coast Guard.

In one of the photos, part of what appears to be an entire neighborhood is underwater. In another section, debris covers the ground around homes. 

On some buildings, the roofs have been ripped off. In a marina, boats are piled together near what appears to be an oil slick on the water.

The southwest Florida community is among the areas hit hardest by the storm. Coast Guard and National Guard rescue teams pulled people from roofs in flooded neighborhoods Thursday morning. Tens of thousands of people remain without power in the area.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called Ian “a 500-year flood event” and said people can expect the storm to continue to have impact across the state as it leaves record-setting flooding hundreds of miles away from where the hurricane made landfall on Wednesday.

“This storm is having broad impacts across the state, and some of the flooding you’re going to see in areas hundreds of miles from where this made landfall are going to set records,” he said at Florida’s emergency operations center in Tallahassee.

President Biden has approved a “major disaster declaration for nine counties,”  DeSantis said. This includes: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota. It will allow individuals to seek FEMA assistance.

The Florida governor also urged caution for residents, saying “this is still a hazardous situation.”

“This thing is not done creating damage,” he added.

Damaged homes and debris are seen in Fort Myers, Florida on Thursday.

Florida Power and Light says restoring power for its customers in Fort Myers and Naples will take longer than in other parts of the state.

About 1.1 millions of the company’s customers are without power at the moment, and while restoration has already begun, the severely impacted areas may have to wait longer, said Peter Robbins, a spokesperson for the company.

“We started our restoration work yesterday,” he told CNN. “We’ve already restored about three-quarters of a million customers, but clearly the more impacted areas near Naples and Fort Myers will take longer. We’re just now going in there today, doing damage assessments and trying to figure out where we can get our crews to start restoring power.”

“We won’t stop until every last person is on, but I know our customers are going to need some patience,” he added.

The devastation in some areas is hampering the speed of restoration work and makes the process more precarious, Robbins explained.

With hospitals in many areas impacted by Ian, Robbins told CNN that the priority is always power for critical infrastructure.

“We work with all the counties in our service territory before storm season and they prioritize critical infrastructure, like hospitals and 911 centers, and police and fire stations, he said. “We absolutely can work with them to restore those critical pieces of infrastructure first. We’re also working simultaneously to restore our customers and people’s homes, but we absolutely can work with counties to prioritize certain facilities.”

While Hurricane Ian has passed, recovery work and damage assessments have now begun in earnest, according to Jamie Carson, director of communications for Sarasota County government.

“We’re asking our community to work together and to check on your neighbor,” she said during a Thursday briefing. “Take this time not to worry about the debris. … Spend this time with your friends and family. Go check on that neighbor that you’re worried about.” 

“For right now, let’s just take a breath, let’s just take a pause. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Carson said. 

Most of the damage is located in the southern areas of the county, she said. 

In the northern end of the county, Carson said some people are leaving shelters, but she warned the roads are still impacted by debris from Hurricane Ian.

“If you are exiting those evacuation centers, you are literally taking your life into your own hands,” she said. “Because there are power lines down, there are branches and trees down in the roadways there is standing water. We ask that you stay where you are.” 

Collier County Bureau of Emergency Services Director Dan Summers implored people who evacuated during Hurricane Ian to stay in place for now and not go outside to look at any damage to their homes.

“Stay secure. We’ve got so much assessment left to do. We don’t know the status of drainages and canals that are still full. We’ve got a lot of moving water, a lot of debris, power lines down and so there’s so many unknowns, and by all means if you’re in a secure location, sit tight,” he told CNN’s Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto.

Collier County includes the city of Naples.

“While we did not have the wind event that our neighbors have had, we certainly had the water event that far exceeded anything that we had during Hurricane Irma,” Summers said.

The area has not seen such storm surge “in several generations,” he added.

Emergency teams have conducted about 30 rescues, Summers said.

Despite flooding inside of the station that rendered several fire trucks inoperable, crews are utilizing other pieces of equipment to conduct welfare checks and rescue missions, Naples Fire-Rescue Department Chief Pete DiMaria told CNN Thursday morning.

Crews have conducted about 20 welfare checks Thursday morning, DiMaria said.

The chief said not all people are accounted for, however, the numbers could be influenced by those who evacuated at the last minute prior to the storm.

The department did receive several calls for help after the storm started, and crews waded several blocks in high surge waters to rescue a couple stuck in their home, he added. 

The fire department housed multiple people that crews rescued overnight, DiMaria told CNN.

Vehicles sit in floodwaters at the Palm Isle apartments in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.

Flooding is the “biggest concern” in Orange County, the county’s public safety director Danny Banks said on Thursday that, adding that there is a possibility “of up to 24 inches of rain in the county.”

Last night, the fire rescue department went into neighborhoods responding to calls, and there are “over a dozen” specific neighborhoods in Orange County that the fire rescue department is in helping residents who are experiencing flooding. 

Currently, there are nine neighborhoods in the county that the fire rescue team is working in to evacuate residents, according to Banks, and “very soon” that team will be supported by the Florida National Guard. 

“You can expect within the hour to see National Guardsmen working directly with our fire rescue teams as they enter those neighborhoods and try to help people get out,” he said. 

Shelters have “plenty of capacity” and continue to house more than 1,000 people, according to Banks. That number is expected to go up today. 

Orange County firefighters help people stranded by Hurricane Ian early Thursday in Orange County, Florida.

“We did see some people, including people in our special needs shelters, that started to go home this morning but to replace those we have more people that are evacuating from the flood-impacted areas of the neighborhoods,” he said. 

As power companies continue doing assessments, there are approximately 200,000 to a quarter million homes without power, according to Banks. 

“We’ll have a more accurate update, I think, within the next couple of hours as to exactly how much power,” he said. 

Banks said while they are still in the impact phase, they “are quickly transitioning into the response.” 

“There are literally thousands of first responders now in the streets of Orange County, rescuing people where needed and responding to calls for help,” he said.

A portion of the Sanibel Causeway has been washed away by storm surge from Hurricane Ian, according to video from CNN affiliates WBBH and WPLG.

At least three sections of the causeway have been washed away, according to aerial video from WPLG.

CNN geolocated the location where WBBH is reporting from, and the roadway that was washed out is a ramp up to the causeway’s second bridge, spanning the second half toward Sanibel Island. 

Two portions of the ramps to both bridges and a stretch of roadway that crossed an island in the middle of the causeway have been completely washed away.

The causeway is the only way to get to or from Sanibel and Captiva Islands to Florida’s mainland. 

Sanibel Causeway and Pine Island Bridge are “not passable and they are going to require structural rebuilds,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during an update briefing on Thursday.

Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that a portion of the Sanibel Causeway Bridge “was damaged / washed out,” Lt. Gregory S. Bueno with the Public Affairs Division of Florida Highway Patrol told CNN.

According to Florida 511, all lanes of the bridge are currently closed and the severity of the closure is listed as “major.”

Watch reporting from the scene:

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Disney World was completely closed for business as it braced for the impact of Ian’s landfall on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. 

Kelly Zimmerman told CNN that she rode out the hurricane with her sister and her children at a hotel in the theme park located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

“Disney is wonderful and they try to make it a great experience. And so even though things were closed, they were still trying to make it great for the kids and had like the arcades all free in the hotel and just different characters coming, and dance parties and crafts. They tried to make the best of it so that the guests would still have a good experience,” she said. 

While they experienced rain and wind, Zimmerman said she “very safe the whole time and protected.”

On Sunday, the family had plans to go to Mickey’s Halloween party.

Watch:

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Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that washed up against her apartment in Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday.

Powerful Hurricane Ian crossed Florida from Wednesday into Thursday, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. As the now-tropical storm exits the state, the complete assessment of damage still needs to be seen, but here’s what we know:

US Coast Guard crews in Florida have rescued 23 people within the past 24 hours, Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Adm. Peter Gautier said Thursday morning

Gautier told CNN that those still in Ian’s path should heed evacuation orders as the storm is not over yet. 

Gautier said the Coast Guard will work with the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up any oil spills and hazardous materials in impacted areas after the storm.  

HCA Florida Englewood Hospital is currently closed and will transfer patients to other facilities, according to social media posts by the hospital.

The patients were being transferred to other HCA Florida Healthcare hospitals, according to another post. 

The hospital has set up a patient reunification hotline for family of the patients. 

HCA Florida Englewood Hospital offers “cardiovascular care, general surgery, 24/7 emergency care, urology, orthopedics, stroke care and advanced imaging services.” 

All nonessential government services and facilities in Florida’s Collier County will be closed on Thursday, following the impacts of Hurricane Ian in the county, which includes Naples.

But all essential services, including those involving public utilities and emergency operations, remain fully operational, the country said in a Thursday morning update.

Collier Area Transit services will also stay suspended on Thursday morning until the roads have been evaluated and cleared for service, the update said.

Sarasota, Florida, Police Chief Rex Troche said winds in the city are still gusting, and he urged residents to remain off the roads.

“I know people are getting antsy and they want to get back into their homes,” he said in a video on Facebook

Sarasota has several bridges that remain closed on Thursday morning, he said, and officers are out assessing them. 

The police chief became visibly emotional as he spoke about the destruction in Southwest Florida. 

Troche said that he is thinking of other agencies across the region that are dealing with massive damage. 

“I just want to make sure that everyone understands that we’re in this together, we’re one community, one family, and we want to make sure that we recover as quickly as possible,” he said. 

“I also want to say to the other agencies in the cities — our hearts go out to the damage that we’ve seen,” Troche said, getting choked up. “We’re going to be here, we’re going to be here for all of you.” 

Hurricane Ian brought record flooding to several locations in central and southern Florida.

Radar estimates and ground observation rainfall shows well-over a foot of rain fell in just 12 to 24 hours across a swath the region. In some of the hardest-hit areas, this exceeds the rainfall rates for 1-in-1,000 year flood events, according to NOAA data.

Even more locations over a wider area saw 500-year and 200-year rainfall rates, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis referenced the hurricane’s rainfall as “a 500-year flood event” on Thursday morning.

A 1,000-year rainfall event is one that is so intense that it is only seen once every 1,000 years on average under normal circumstances. But extreme rainfall is becoming more common as the climate crisis pushes temperatures higher. Warmer air can hold more moisture, which loads the dice in favor of historic rainfall.

Placida, Florida, had an observed rainfall total of more than 15 inches over 12 hours on Wednesday. This exceeds the 1-in-1,000 year flood event interval of 14.0 inches. 

Lake Wales, Florida, received 16.99 inches in 24 hours, which exceeds its 1-in-1,000 year flood event for a 24-hour interval of 16.8 inches.

Other locations that likely had 1-in-1,000 year flood events, but have only been confirmed by radar rainfall estimates, mostly because the hurricane damaged the measuring equipment or power outages, include:

Rainfall rates in landfalling tropical systems has increased as a result of a warming climate, according to scientists. Numerous other 1-in-1,000 year flood events have occurred in non-tropical systems this year, such as in St. Louis, Eastern Kentucky, and Dallas.

Manatee County, Florida, has lifted the evacuation orders that were put in place ahead of Hurricane Ian. 

In a statement on Thursday, Manatee County said: “Emergency evacuation shelters are being closed, and residents are being allowed to return to their homes. However, it is not a return to normal.” 

Teams are assessing the damage this morning.

“Initial assessments show that the island communities have suffered minor to moderate damages with a greater impact being felt inland in east county communities like Myakka city,” he said. 

“Reports of fallen trees, scattered limbs and snapped power wires have been widespread across the region, and while power crews are already deploying to the area, residents are being asked to be alert for debris and downed lines,” according to the statement.

At least 2,585,737 Florida energy customers are still without power, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

In the hardest-hit southwestern region, Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral, about 90% of all customers are in the dark.

About 92% of customers in Charlotte County, home to Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, lost power.

“Lee and Charlotte [counties] are basically off the grid at this point,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference earlier Thursday.

President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this morning discussed the response to Hurricane Ian and the current need for recovery in the state.

“We have received a major disaster declaration for nine counties, but we do expect more,” DeSantis said in a briefing. “I just spoke with the President this morning. He offered support. I told him thanks for this, but because the storm has moved inland and caused a lot of potential damage in the center part of our state, that we are going to be asking for those counties to be expanded and included there.” 

Biden earlier approved a major disaster declaration for Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which makes federal aid available to people in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.

“That will allow individual Floridians to seek individual assistance from FEMA,” DeSantis said. “And that will be something that as you have people that have been displaced due to the catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Ian, you know, that’s going to be something that’s going to be necessary.” 

The White House said the President and governor “committed to continued close coordination.”

As of 6 a.m. ET this morning, southwest Florida has 2.02 million reported power outages, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning, adding that there may be additional outages in central and northeast Florida.

“Lee and Charlotte [counties] are basically off the grid at this point,” he said.

The damage to power infrastructure in the two counties is extensive, according to reports from DeSantis. The governor said that the Charlotte and Lee reconnects are likely going to need rebuilding of infrastructure. 

“The other counties likely are not going to require the extent of the structural rebuild, but of course, that’s going to be assessed as the day goes on,” he added.

Here are the power outage numbers he detailed:

The center of Tropical Storm Ian is located 10 miles west of Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning, according to the 8 a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center, but the impacts are being felt over hundreds of miles.

Top wind speeds with Ian are at 65 mph, with higher gusts, but tropical storm-force winds (39 mph and up) are stretching all the way from Tampa, Florida, to north of Charleston, South Carolina. 

The tropical storm-force wind field stretches for more than 550 miles on Thursday, which is around 200 miles more than when Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday.

In addition to the winds, torrential rainfall has been — and still is — occurring across much of central and northeastern Florida. 

Some of the heaviest rain has fallen in and around the Orlando area where flash flood warnings remain in effect. Rainfall amounts over one foot have been reported and additional rain is expected.

The Little Wekiva River, north of Orlando, is already a foot over its all-time record crest, and it is forecast to rise nearly another two feet.

Vehicles make their way through a flooded area of Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday morning.

The road to recovery for businesses in Fort Myers is going to be long, mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN on Thursday.

While there have been no reports of loss of life in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, and rescue teams have gotten to work already, Anderson described a high volume of damage.

Speaking to CNN over the phone, he said he was at least two blocks away from the river and yet, he was standing on a block of concrete pier that had floated away.

Anderson urged the residents to stay inside and detailed the work that is cut out for a variety of teams in the aftermath of the storm. 

“Number one, they should stay inside. It’s not safe to be out moving around. The roads are very slick from mud. There’s downed power lines, there’s trees that are still subject to falling. So people really should stay home. They need to be patient. Florida power and light will get there, get the power outages as quick as they can. We’re working on the restoration of our water service. First of all, we’ve got to get the roads clean so they’re passable so that our crews can get out there and go to work,” he said. 

Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph on Florida’s west coast. As some 1.75 million people faced evacuation orders, torrential rains, flooding and record storm surges in Naples and Fort Myers left more than 2.6 million people without power across the state. And the need is expected to grow.

The state of Florida has a Florida Disaster Fund that you can donate to here or by texting “disaster” to 20222.

Several organizations already have teams on the ground. You can help them here or by clicking the button below.

Coast Guard teams are gearing up for a busy day of search and rescue and have been pulling people off roofs, Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson, a US Coast Guard commander, told CNN Thursday.

“We currently have an aircraft in the air with the Florida National Guard actively pulling people off of roofs in Fort Myers,” he added.

Manatee County officials are pleading with residents: “Don’t be a disaster tourist by putting yourself in harm’s way.” 

On Thursday morning, teams in Manatee County will “move in to clear the way on to Anna Maria Island to allow utilities crews to restore the island’s sewer service first and then potable water,” according to an update on their website. 

“Utilities crews are mobilizing to help restore wastewater service. More than 200 lift stations were off-line across the county due to power outages—more than 28% of the system,” the update said. Teams are also working with Florida Power and Light (FPL) teams to clear roads.

“More than 134,000 FPL customers are without power,” it added.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes said in a statement. “But it is important we all pitch in to do we do the work that matters.” 

Manatee County sits just below Tampa on Florida’s west coast.

More than 2.6 million Florida customers are without power, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

In Sarasota County, which includes Sarasota and Venice, over 225,000 power customers are in the dark. That’s roughly 79% of the residents.

Collier County, home to Naples and Marco Island, has more than 202,000 customers without power, which accounts for 77% of the county.

The majority of the roads on Marco Island in Collier County, Florida, are no longer flooded, according to an update from the Marco Island Police Department Thursday morning.

During Hurricane Ian’s storm surge, many vehicles were stalled in the middle of roads, and teams are now attempting to move them, the update said.

While Marco Island Public Works worked through the night removing trees from roadways, utilities and traffic lights are still out and cell phone coverage is intermittent, according to the update.

The Marco Island Police Department Marine Unit will be out on the waterways around 9:00 a.m. ET, police said.

A section of the causeway leading to Sanibel in Lee County is seen knocked out by Hurricane Ian early Thursday.

Lee County, Florida, was the area hit hardest by Hurricane Ian, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN Thursday, and the damage is going to be catastrophic.

That’s just one area, she said, and they know that others, including many along the western coast, had “significant impact.” 

She did not have a number on people who might need rescue. 

“I don’t think that we can quantify it yet,” she said about the amount of damage that has been done. “But I can tell you that it is going to be catastrophic. The amount of impact to these communities is going to be significant.” 

Criswell said that FEMA is preparing for the possibility of thousands of displaced families that will need assistance.

Cajun Navy, a team of volunteers who help perform rescues in the wake of hurricanes and other natural disasters, has already been at work in the wee hours of the night, helping stranded Floridians, according to founder Rob Gaudet.

By their last count, the team had already performed between 20 and 30 rescues, he said, adding that they’re not sure of an accurate updated number.

The Cajun Navy gets ticket requests through social media or direct messages from people who request help, and that helps the volunteers know exactly where they are going to perform rescues.

“Our team has been out for the last four or five hours, pulling people out from homes,” he told CNN, adding that the most number of requests are coming from the Venice and Fort Myers area, but the volunteers haven’t been able to make it that far yet.

The requests — which are probably in hundreds, according to Gaudet — are usually made by family members of the people in need of rescue assistance.

“It’s not the people that are stranded on the roof, it’s the family member … calling us saying, ‘hey, I have a family member that’s stranded that needs help,’” he explained. “When you have six feet of water and water around you, you can’t see land, you can’t see the roads. Stranded is literally, you’re stuck on your roof or inside of your home without the ability to leave. You’re not going to put your family at risk by going into water.”

The people that the team usually assists are those with with disability or they have children or they need help getting out, Gaudet added.

Collier County, which includes Marco Island and Naples, was hit hard by storm surge from Hurricane Ian, Commissioner Rick Locastro told CNN.

“We survived Irma and other hurricanes, which were more about the wind and yes, always water. But storm surge is something that we have not seen here to this intensity ever,” Locastro told CNN.

Utility issues are the main concern, he said.

“The ferocity with which the water came in, just caused such intense flooding and damage,” the commissioner told CNN. “Some things have been submerged in record-setting depths of water that are going to take a lot to replace, not just repair.”

A combination of gusty onshore winds, high tide and slow drainage are keeping the water levels in the For Myers-Cape Coral area well above normal.

Data from a NOAA tidal gauge shows there’s still about 3 feet of inundation — that is the height of the water above the height of the highest regular tides.

During the peak of the storm yesterday, the gauge showed just more than 7.2 feet of inundation.  

Before yesterday, the gauge had never shown more than 3.4 feet of inundation, going back to 1965. So the current level is still extraordinarily high for the area. 

High tide was around 5 a.m. this morning, so water levels should continue to recede more as we head towards low tide shortly after noon today.

Charlotte County officials are pleading with residents, “If you decided to evacuate, now is not the time to return.”  

Officials said the roads remain “extremely dangerous with many unknown hazards.” Teams will be out to “conduct a thorough safety assessment of our community,” the county said In a post on Facebook,

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office added, “We understand there are major concerns regarding the safety of loved ones and the condition of Charlotte County.”  

“We share in your frustration as many of our first responders and emergency management staff also have these fears and are unable to contact family,” they said.  

Charlotte County is in southwest Florida, and the county seat of Punta Gorda. 

President Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for the state of Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

The declaration makes federal aid available to people in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.

“Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” the White House said. 

Crews need winds in Florida to get below 35 mph before they can go out to assess damage to power infrastructure, said David Reuter, spokesperson for Florida Power and Light.

The company has about 1.1 million customers out of power at present, he told CNN, adding that while there is a possibility that this number grows, the company has already been restoring power in parts of Florida where it is safe to go out.

As daylight comes, the company will be able to better survey the devastation from the storm.

“We’re going to have crews out there as soon as it’s safe to do so. We have to wait until winds get below about 35 miles an hour in order to do that. Once we’re able to do that, it should take about 24 hours for us to have an assessment of the extensive nature — or maybe not so in certain parts — to figure out where we can start restoring the power,” he explained.

Depending on what the survey of devastation shows, this restoration process could take days.

“Our hope would be that we can do it in a matter of days for those customers that we’re able to get the power back on, we’re able to get back into those regions. But if … we go in and find out we’re not just looking at stringing wire and drying a few thing out, you know, this could be a matter of weeks depending how extensive the damage is on the west coast,” he said.

The island of Venice, Florida, has its potable water restored following a cut off during Hurricane Ian, according to a post on their Facebook page.

The city of Venice Utilities Department had discontinued potable water service to the island ahead of the Category 4 hurricane to protect their infrastructure, the city had said Tuesday.  

On Thursday, the Venice Police Department said, “We recognize everyone is anxious to get out and return to their homes, but the roads are not safe.” 

Teams are out “conducting assessments and clearing roadways,” police said in a post on Facebook. “There are many roadways that are simply not passable due to flood and debris. Please continue to stay in place if you can.”  

The city is asking residents to stay home while first responders work to clear the roads and work on prioritizing emergency calls they have received.  

The City of Orlando is receiving multiple reports of flooded roadways and city officials are urging residents to continue to shelter in place and stay off the roadways as Tropical Storm Ian makes its way across the city, an update from the City of Orlando said Thursday morning.  

There are reports of flash flooding at multiple locations, and Karyn Barber, communications manager for the city of Orlando, tells CNN that the city has already needed to respond to drivers who have gotten stuck in flooded roadways.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will provide an update on the status of Tropical Storm Ian in an 8:45 a.m. ET press conference this morning from the state emergency operations center in Tallahassee.

DeSantis will be joined by Kevin Guthrie, management director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management.

Sarasota County Sheriff's Office have been inundated with emergency calls.

On Thursday morning, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said it is tackling “more than 500 calls for service related to law and fire services.”

Many of the calls are located in south Sarasota County, the sheriff said in a Facebook post.

“Sit tight, we know many of you need help. This is going to be a long road to recovery but we’re in this together,” the post said.

Ian, now a tropical storm, is continuing to dump rain on Florida as it craws across the state, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

“This storm right now is a rain maker, as we expected,” Myers said.

Ian will eventually move back over the Atlantic Ocean, where it will “try to reintensify” in the ocean’s warm waters, Myers said — although he added that Ian may not become a hurricane again.

The storm is forecast to continue moving northward and could make landfall again near South Carolina.

Here’s a look at the latest forecast rainfall from the National Hurricane Center:

Firefighters work as the fire station gets inundated in Naples, Florida, U.S., on September 28, in this screenshot taken from a social media video. 

Speaking with CNN’s Dan Berman on New Day Thursday morning, Naples fire chief Pete DiMaria said his department conducted about ten rescues before 4 to 7 feet of storm surge came up into their fire stations as Hurricane Ian made it’s way into Florida Wednesday.

DiMaria said there are six people still held up at the fire station until they can get to their homes and see what kind of damage they took.

The fire chief noted that officials are having a tough time with communications, as a lot of cell phone towers are down due to a full 24 hours of tropical force and hurricane force winds battering the area. 

DiMaria said water lines are visible on buildings throughout the City of Naples. “I don’t know that there’s as much debris as we’ve seen with some other storms, but the surge has certainly caused a tremendous amount of damage in our area,” DiMaria said.

Ian remains a dangerous tropical storm as it carves its way through central Florida Thursday morning with winds of 65 mph and higher gusts.

Ian first made landfall in southwestern Florida as a devastating Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon and weakened overnight. It is now expected to exit the state through Florida’s northeast coast on Thursday and approach the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Friday.

The storm has left catastrophic damage in its wake. In addition to hurricane-force winds, storm surges have slammed into coastal communities and torrential rains brought dangerous flooding that left some residents trapped in their homes.

Here are the latest developments:

Fire rescue crews in Estero, a town in southwestern Florida’s Lee County, has started to clear streets and respond to calls for help that they were unable to answer during the storm, according to the town’s fire department.

Multiple first responder and law enforcement agencies have reported being unable to answer emergency calls as massive floods restricted access to those in need.

Ian has weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 65 mph and higher gusts, according to the 5 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Storm Ian is still expected to produce strong winds, heavy rains, and storm surge across portions of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas over the next 3 days, the center said.

A storm surge warning is in effect for the St. Johns River in northeast Florida, as well as areas stretching from the Flagler-Volusia County line in Florida north to the South Santee River in South Carolina. Portions of the Gulf Coast also remain under storm surge threat.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued for much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, from north of Bonita Beach up to Indian Pass along the Panhandle.

Areas stretching from Boca Raton to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, also face a tropical storm warning, as does Lake Okeechobee. Some isolated hurricane-force winds may still occur.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles watches the action during a NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, on September 25 in Tampa, Florida.

After relocating due to Hurricane Ian and practicing in Miami Gardens on Wednesday, players and coaching staff for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers spoke about the effect the storm has had on them and their families, and expressed their well-wishes to those impacted by the storm.

Running back Leonard Fournette, who was born in New Orleans, remembered the impact and devastation Hurricane Katrina had when it hit the Gulf Coast in 2005 and took the lives of 1,833 people.

Read more about the contingency plan to move Sunday’s game in Tampa to Minnesota here:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice Miami Gardens. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Related article Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice in Miami and talk about Hurricane Ian impact

The Punta Gorda city water system is empty and boil water notices are in effect following the impacts of Hurricane Ian, according to an update from city officials late Wednesday.

A fill station is being set up for residents at the city’s water plant, and the system will be restarted once damaged pipes are repaired, the update said.

Punta Gorda is the county seat of Charlotte County, which is reporting more than 90 percent of its customers without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

Rescue and emergency response missions have been delayed in some heavily-impacted parts of Florida because of risky storm conditions, state and local officials said.

In Charlotte County, Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller said Wednesday night that emergency response teams there will not be able to answer calls for help “until the hazards conditions end.” Officials hopes to resume responses Thursday morning.

Other counties have been inundated with emergency calls, with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office saying they are in “triage mode.”

“We are getting a significant number of calls of people trapped by water in their homes,” the office said in a statement Wednesday.

First responders in Fort Myers are now out surveying the damage, according to the Fort Myers Fire Department early Thursday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis cautioned in a press conference Wednesday that 911 calls may not be answered right away in some areas.

Floodwaters from Hurricane Ian inundated the set and newsroom at Fort Myers-based CNN affiliate WINK TV.

WINK Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt posted on social media, “Storm surge got into WINK, flooded out our entire set and newsroom in Fort Myers.  Lost power and I was unable to continue broadcasting on tv and radio.”

An update on the station’s website indicated its newscast went off air during the brunt of the storm Wednesday afternoon.  

“We are like everybody else,” said Tom Doerr, director of local news and content at WINK News. “We are experiencing the same difficulties like everybody else.”

Flash flood warnings have been extended until 4:45 a.m. ET for parts of Osceola County and adjacent Orange County, Florida, the National Weather Service in Melbourne said early Thursday.

In the Orlando metro area, law enforcement reports flooding due to heavy rain. The area has already received a total rainfall of 8 to 12 inches and an additional 2 to 4 inches are expected. Heavy rain will continue to produce life-threatening flash flooding.

When driving, “be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding” the National Weather Service says.

Remember: “turn around, don’t drown” when encountering flooded roads.

Hurricane and tropical storm warnings across southern Florida have been dropped as Hurricane Ian moves farther north, according to an update from the National Hurricane Center.

The storm remains at Category 1 with sustained winds of up to 75 mph.

The center of the hurricane is about 55 miles south-southeast of Orlando and is moving toward the northeast at 9 mph, approaching northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Guests look out of hotel windows as Hurricane Ian has made landfall in Fort Myers, on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

More than 2,300,000 customers across Florida did not have power as of early Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us. That’s about 21% of all tracked customers in the state.

Twelve counties are reporting that more than 50% of tracked customers are without power. The most impacted areas are those directly in Hurricane Ian’s path in the southwest, central and northeast regions of the state.

The county with the most total outages is Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral, with 425,717 customers without power – roughly 90 percent. Nearly all customers in DeSoto County are also without power.

Thousands of people incarcerated in Florida prison facilities have been relocated or evacuated because of Hurricane Ian’s impact, according to state and local officials.

The Florida Department of Corrections said Wednesday that approximately 2,500 inmates were moved to facilities “better equipped to weather the impacts of the storm.” Nearly two dozen facilities were evacuated, it said.

Other jurisdictions say they have restricted activity or rehoused internally due to Hurricane Ian.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said Wednesday that “certain inmate movement has been suspended and accountability procedures are in place” as a temporary measure during the storm.

In hard-hit Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, people held in the main jail facility were moved to a higher floor “out of an abundance of caution,” the sheriff’s office said Wednesday.

Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia are all under states of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Ian.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency on Tuesday and the other three states’ governors released declarations on Wednesday. With the issuances, states can deploy emergency resources to prepare for potential severe weather in the coming days.

In North Carolina and Georgia, the executive orders also prohibit price gouging.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged residents to “make plans for every contingency and be prepared.”

Track Hurricane Ian and see where the storm may be headed next here.

A flooded Gulfshore Boulevard is seen in Naples Florida on September 28.

Waters have receded at a fire department in Naples, Florida, which was flooded with waist-deep water Wednesday due to Hurricane Ian, according to Tarin Bachle, Administrative Manager for the Naples Fire-Rescue Department.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, the department posted a video of the station inundated with several feet of murky water. In the video, the water is above Bachle’s waist and flowing into the cabin of a fire engine.

While the fire station no longer had standing water in the evening video update, flooding could still be seen in the neighboring street. Layers of sludge and debris can also be seen on the driveway.

Storm debris litters a street in the wake of Hurricane Ian September 28, in Sarasota.

Hurricane Ian is making its way through Florida as a Category 1 storm after making landfall as a powerful Category 4 along the state’s southwestern coast Wednesday afternoon. The dangerously strong winds and torrential downpour have brought life-threatening storm surge and flooding to some areas. 

The hurricane has weakened since it hit the coast, but officials are still urging residents to take shelter and remain alert as the worst of the storm is yet to come for many in its path.  

After hitting the coast with 150 mph winds, Ian is now tied with Hurricane Charley in 2004 as the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.

The storm could rank as one of the top five hurricanes to strike the peninsula, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.  

Here’s what you need to know:

Hurricane Ian has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it moves across central Florida, the National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday. The storm’s sustained winds are down to 90 mph. 

Ian is now centered about 70 miles south of Orlando. East-central Florida, including Orlando, is also under a tornado watch through 1 a.m. ET Thursday.

Overnight, widespread tropical storm-force winds with gusts above hurricane force will continue to impact central Florida, the hurricane center said. 

The storm will also bring a continued threat of heavy rain into Thursday.

“Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flooding, with major to record river flooding, will continue across portions of central Florida tonight,” the hurricane center said, also warning of “considerable flooding in northern Florida, southeastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina” through the end of the week.

More than 2 million energy customers were in the dark Wednesday night, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

In the hardest-hit southwestern region, 10 counties reported that more than 50% of tracked customers were without power.

Eight more counties in southwest, central and northeast Florida reported more than 10,000 customers had no electricity.

All flights through Jacksonville International Airport are canceled Thursday and the terminal is closed, the airport announced in a tweet.

JAX joins Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport in discontinuing flights due to Hurricane Ian.

The Tampa airport announced that no flights would depart from the airstrip Thursday and has not provided a reopening date. Orlando International said in a Wednesday update that its commercial operations are “expected to resume sometime Friday.”

As Hurricane Ian continues to cross the Florida peninsula, some areas are reporting more than a foot of rainfall. Here are some preliminary rainfall totals from Ian, as reported by the National Weather Service in Tampa as of Wednesday night:

In a photo provided by Dr. Birgit Bodine shows a staff member standing in a flooded hallway at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The roof above an ICU at a hospital in Port Charlotte was torn off by the storm, Dr. Birgit Bodine, an internal medicine specialist at the facility, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

The staff worked together to move patients to a safe place but they can’t evacuate yet because of the conditions outside, the doctor said. Some rooms that are built for two people are now housing three and four patients, she said.

They hope to be able to evacuate patients in the morning, she said.

While the air conditioner is not working, the hospital is running on backup generators and all other vital systems are working, Bodine said.

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings speaks about preparations for Hurricane Ian on September 23.

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings said the community can expect to see up to two feet of rain due to Hurricane Ian.  

Demings said that Orange County, which includes Orlando, is expected to feel the strongest effects of Hurricane Ian late Wednesday and into the early morning hours.  

“There’s no question that we’re now feeling the effects of this hurricane, and we haven’t seen the worst of it yet,” Demings said. “We’ve asked all of our residents to start the process of sheltering in place. You should not be out on the roadways at this time moving about the community.”  

Demings said people should be prepared for widespread power outages.

Orange County has a population of nearly 1.5 million people and its other cities include Apopka, Bay Lake, Belle Isle, Eatonville, Edgewood, Lake Buena Vista, Maitland, Oakland, Ocoee, Windermere, Winter Garden and Winter Park.

High wind gusts and storm surges are being reported as Hurricane Ian moves across Florida. Here are some of the highest winds reported in southwest Florida, according to the National Weather Service:

The National Weather Service in Tampa notes that some of the automatic reporting stations are broken or are not reporting due to communications failure.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference about updates and preparations for Hurricane Ian on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

The storm surge from Hurricane Ian has reached up to 12 feet in some areas, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference on Wednesday. 

DeSantis said there could be hurricane-force winds in central Florida before the storm exits the state. 

DeSantis said that Hurricane Ian, at minimum, will be a very strong Category 4 hurricane that ranks as one of the top five to hit the Florida peninsula.

Hurricane Ian’s thrashing of Cuba has left at least two people dead and the entire island without power.

Both deaths occurred in the hard-hit western province of Pinar del Rio, where a woman died after a wall collapsed on her and a man died after his roof fell on him, state media said.

On Wednesday, crews rushed to restore power to some of the millions of Cubans who lost electricity as Ian battered the western region with fierce winds and treacherous storm surge.

Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm just southwest of La Coloma in the Pinar del Rio province early Tuesday.

Read more about Hurricane Ian’s impact in Cuba here:

People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Cuba remained in the dark early Wednesday after Hurricane Ian knocked out its power grid and devastated some of the country's most important tobacco farms when it hit the island's western tip as a major storm. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Related article Hurricane Ian killed at least 2 people in Cuba and wiped out power to the entire island | CNN

Authorities in areas that are in the path of Hurricane Ian have warned residents that first responders will not go out once wind gusts reach a certain speed determined for the respective jurisdictions. So if you’re a resident who has decided to shelter in place instead of evacuating, an emergency management official explains what will happen if you call 911.

“Most emergency response agencies have gone ahead and stopped emergency service at this point due to the high winds. If you call 911, unfortunately, during the height of the storm we cannot go out and provide assistance,” said Patrick Fuller, emergency management director for Charlotte County, Florida.

What does hunkering down mean: Get inside the firmest structure you can move to — the interior of the building, away from windows. When the storm clears out, do not immediately get on the road. There could be severe debris all over along with downed power lines, Fuller explained.

Hurricane Ian’s storm surge could be unlike anything seen there before, and forecasters are warning that Ian’s intense rainfall – which is expected to continue across the peninsula through Thursday, could lead to life-threatening floods.

When Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday with maximum winds of 150 mph, it tied 2004’s Hurricane Charley as the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of the Florida peninsula.

Read more about Hurricane Ian’s impact here:

This Satellite image provided by NASA on Sept. 26, 2022, shows Hurricane Ian pictured from the International Space Station just south of Cuba gaining strength and heading toward Florida. Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida's southwest coast Wednesday, Sept. 28, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (NASA via AP)

Related article The ways Hurricane Ian could be an unprecedented storm for Florida's Gulf Coast | CNN