Death toll rises from Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian; storm crawls across Carolinas, Virginia
A weakened Ian continues traveling north through the Carolinas, where it is expected to dissipate over Virginia late Saturday. Fox News is updating with the latest news surrounding the storm, its impact, travel and emergency updates.
Coverage for this event has ended.
Florida Medical Examiners Commission confirms 44 deaths, majority in Lee County
The number of confirmed fatalities from Hurricane Ian rose to at least 44, most of them in Lee County, Florida.
Florida District Medical Examiners report hurricane deaths to the Medical Examiners Commission (MEC) following an autopsy after confirming the death was storm-related.
Lee County bore the brunt of the Category 4 hurricane with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) confirming at least 30 deaths.
In addition, FDLE reported three deaths in Collier County and one in Hendry County.
Sarasota County has three confirmed deaths, while Manatee County had one person die.
In Lake County, one person died and in Volusia County, five deaths were attributed to Hurricane Ian. Authorities have not released the causes of death.
The death toll is expected to climb as floodwaters recede and search teams are able to reach areas initially cut off by the storm.
NFL to auction game-worn jerseys to support Hurricane Ian relief efforts
The National Football League Foundation will donate $1 million to Hurricane Ian relief efforts, matching the donation by the Glazer family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The NFL will also auction a number of game-worn jerseys from the Tampa Bay-Kansas City game Sunday night to support relief efforts.
"Following Sunday Night’s Kansas City Chiefs-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, the NFL will also be auctioning off a limited number of game-worn jerseys and other unique items which fans can bid on at NFL.com/auction to support the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Ian relief efforts," the NFL said in a statement.
The Glazer family, owners of the Bucs since 1995, announced a $1 million donation Thursday.
"The destruction suffered in Southwest Florida and the damage inflicted throughout our state will be felt for some time," said Buccaneers co-owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, according to the Bucs' website.
"It will take entire communities' resiliently working together for an extended period, and our family is committed to aiding in the recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the countless people affected, the heroic first responders and all of those helping to keep others safe."
Click here to read more on the story: NFL to auction game-worn jerseys following Bucs-Chiefs game
Tampa couple describes moment water from Hurricane Ian flooded apartment complex
Tampa couple Radu and Alexis Marginean were hunkering down in Naples, Florida during Hurricane Ian, where they said fire alarms began blaring in their building at the height of the storm.
Radu Marginean told FOX Weather that he heard on the radio that there was a fire in Naples and that the fire station was underwater, so he went downstairs to check things out.
"I just wanted to go see if the fire was in our building," he said.
When he got to the first floor, he quickly realized how bad things really were. Water, presumably from the massive storm surge pushed ashore by Hurricane Ian, crashed through the exit door and rushed into the building.
"I thought that I was going to die, because I got completely submerged underwater," he said.
Soaking wet, he clung to the stairwell railing and was eventually able to pull himself up the stairs and out of the water.
The couple said they have spent four days without power.
Read more on the story from FOX Weather: Watch: Water bursts through door in Naples during Hurricane Ian
Nearly 1,600 people and 75 pets had been rescued by Florida search and rescue teams
As of Friday evening, nearly 1,600 people and 75 pets had been rescued by State and federal search and rescue operations in Florida.
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, Customs Border and Protection and the state of Florida are coordinating rescue efforts with local officials in Florida to assist residents following Hurricane Ian.
In a press release, FEMA said that rescue operations are prioritizing hospitals and healthcare facilities in barrier island communities.
In Florida, approximately 5,000 Florida National Guard members and 2,000 National Guard members from other states are activated to help with search and rescue efforts.
In addition, more than 550 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel are conducting safety inspections, installing generators and assessing power needs. At least 1.3 million people are experiencing power outages in Florida.
FEMA also activated a medical support contract for ambulances. More than 300 ambulances, 15 bariatric paratransit ambulances and four rotary aircraft are being used to assist first responders.
On Saturday, President Biden approved the Seminole Tribe's request for an expedited major disaster declaration which will allow assistance to survivors as well as federal funds for debris removal and emergency protective measures.
The President also approved North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s request for an emergency declaration, allowing FEMA to provide federal assistance for emergency protective measures.
Florida deputies rescue woman from rushing floodwaters after her car was swept away
Deputies in Florida sprang to action and formed a human chain to rescue a woman whose car was swept away by an extreme current in floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
In a video shared on social media by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, body camera footage shows five deputies creating a human chain and venturing into 10-feet-deep rushing floodwaters to rescue the woman.
The woman was in a car being swept away by floodwaters at Dean Road and Lake Underhill Road in Orlando. Deputies said it was an extreme current caused by a surge in the Little Econlockhatchee River.
"Perhaps it was kismet that one deputy who rushed to the scene had 200 feet of rope in his patrol vehicle," the sheriff's office stated in a Facebook post. "Five deputies formed a human chain and used that rope to venture into rushing water 10 feet deep to save the woman."
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Over 1,000 people rescued in Florida by National Guard
More than 1,100 Floridians have been rescued by the Florida National Guard in the wake of Hurricane Ian, according to the Division of Emergency Management.
The Florida National Guard began search and rescue missions to support local authorities and rescue people from flooded areas in southwest and central Florida on Saturday.
As of Saturday morning, DeSantis' office said they had rescued 1,076 civilians from flooded areas, rescued and transported 78 civilians from flooded elderly care facilities, performed two hoist rescues, and 178 rotary wing rescues.
Four deaths in North Carolina are storm-related, Governor Roy Cooper says
On Saturday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper confirmed four deaths in the state are storm-related.
According to the governor's office, three of the four killed were in Johnston County.
A 25-year-old man passed away when he lost control of his car and hydroplaned into another vehicle in stormy conditions. A 24-year-old died when she veered off the road and crashed into a tree.
A 65-year-old man died early Saturday morning in Johnston County from carbon monoxide poisoning after having a generator in his closed garage while the power was out. His wife was hospitalized.
Another man died by drowning when officials said his truck became submerged in a flooded swamp in Martin County Friday night.
President Biden signed an emergency declaration for North Carolina on Saturday. It provides federal recovery support and reimbursement for emergency protective expenses incurred by state and local governments during the storm.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis serves food at Waffle House amid Hurricane Ian recovery efforts
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited a Waffle House in Florida and served food to residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
DeSantis visited a Waffle House in Charlotte County, Florida, on Saturday and helped serve food to linemen.
".@WaffleHouse is one of the first restaurants in Charlotte County to reopen and provide hot meals as we work together to serve Floridians after #HurricaneIan." DeSantis said on Twitter. "Thank you for providing meals to the linemen working to restore power."
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday afternoon near Cayo Costa, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 155 mph, just 2 mph shy of a Category 5.
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Death toll rises to at least 50 in Florida as search and rescue effort continues
The Florida Division of Emergency Management estimates there may be more than 50 deaths across eight counties linked to Hurricane Ian.
The medical examiner must determine if a death is storm-related or not, which is why several counties have reported some deaths as “unconfirmed” for the time being, Florida's Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie explained in a press conference,
There were 12 deaths in Charlotte County, all unconfirmed. In Collier County, three deaths were confirmed from drowning and five deaths remain unconfirmed.
Polk County, Lake County, and Manatee County each had one confirmed death.
Sarasota County and Volusia County each had four unconfirmed deaths.
Lee County, which includes Fort Meyers, have at least 16 deaths from Hurricane Ian.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) shared information on how to report missing persons related to Hurricane Ian here. As well as, safe and found people can be found on this website.
Florida Highway Patrol announces reopening of I-75 Northbound following flooding
The Florida Highway Patrol announced the reopening of Interstate 75 Northbound following extensive flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Rising waters from the Myakka River beneath Interstate 75 prompted officials to close a 14-mile stretch of the roadway in Sarasota County late Friday.
"Northbound Interstate 75 at mile marker 182 is back open" the Troop F account for the Florida Highway Patrol said in a Twitter post on Saturday afternoon.
Southbound I-75 is also in the process of reopening at mile marker 182.
The Highway Patrol reminded motorists to continue to avoid Exit 182 Ramp due to extensive flooding. Detours are expected to remain in place until flooding recedes.
Collier County, City of Naples issues mandatory curfew for residents
Collier County and the City of Naples has issued a mandatory curfew for residents between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. It is anticipated that the curfew will remain in effect until power is largely restored.
The purpose of the curfew is to protect the safety of the residents as they begin the process of recovering from the effects of Hurricane Ian, a press release explained.
The curfew does not apply to emergency responders, employees at health care facilities, critical staff for businesses that provide essential services or those seeking medical assistance.
Violation of the curfew is a second-degree misdemeanor.
Residents with any questions may call the Hotline at (239) 252-8444 or 311.
Portion on major Florida highway flooded forcing continued closures
Flooding in Sarasota County, Florida on I-75 South near Exit 182 due to flooding from the Myakka River.
In addition, emergency vehicles closed all lanes on Exit 193: Jacaranda Blvd. on I-75 South.
Motorists planning on traveling on I-75 South should seek an alternative route or follow detours the Florida Department of Transportation have listed here.
DeSantis working with Elon Musk, Starlink to position satellites to provide internet service
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Saturday press conference that the state was working with SpaceX to position Starlink internet satellites for counties impacted by Hurricane Ian.
"We're working with Elon Musk, and Starlink satellite," he explained. "So, they're positioning the Starlink satellites to provide good coverage in southwest Florida and other affected areas."
He then gestured to boxes of the satellites sitting to his left.
"Here are the Starlinks that we're going to provide for Lee County," DeSantis said.
"So, they have satellites that beam down, but you can't just get it on your device without having things like that beaming it o the public or beaming it to whatever. So, those are going to be really for their use at the places that are offering the emergency response, so that they can be fully hooked up and can get online if they need to go," he told reporters.
The governor said the state is expecting 120 additional large Starlink units to deploy to the region.
"And so, they've donated the costs associated with all the coverage. So, we want to thank SpaceX and thank Elon Musk for that," he noted.
"A large device: you can put it in different areas in the community that are having problems and they can get a 13-mile radius and they can support over 1,000 users at a given time. So, you're talking about over a hundred of these," DeSantis continued.
The governor said some had already been distributed to Charlotte and that some would be given to Lee and surrounding counties.
"Not all will go to Lee, but many will go to Lee, Charlotte...If there's places in Collier, some of our rural counties like DeSoto and Hardee. You know, they're offline, too, to be able to do that," he added. "So, that will help bridge some of the connectivity issues and we think that that's something that's very, very smart."
FEMA, Coast Guard, American Red Cross and Army Corps of Engineers on Hurricane Ian relief in Florida
In a Saturday morning teleconference, officials from FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross gave an update on recovery and relief efforts following the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Florida.
Michael Musher, of the NWS, said there are nine river gauges, right now indicating record flooding across Florida.
He also noted that there was river and coastal flooding in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.
While recovery operations are ongoing, Musher said that the weather forecast looks "really good" over the next four to five days.
Next, Brigadier General Brig. Gen. Daniel Hibner said the Army Corps was focused on infrastructure assessments and critical public facilities reported at the Lee County Water Distribution Center, in addition to establishing a generating stage base.
"We're also aware of the upper Kissimmee overflows and inundation that's happening there. And we are responding. We're sending a team of experts to do an assessment of what is happening there," he added.
Annie Bink, who is the Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery, told reporters that the priority continues to be search and rescue operations by land and by sea.
"We're actively collecting data on the ground as we speak from additional counties so we can continue to add those to a major disaster declaration to advance eligibility for assistance," she said, noting that employees are at shelters providing and registering people for individual assistance.
She pointed out that nearly 240 generators are staged on the ground in the affected areas and that at least 145 health care facilities had been impacted by the hurricane.
U.S. Coast Guard Commander Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson said the Coast Guard had rescued more than 400 people since sunrise and that approximately 4,000 people have been rescued and assisted from entire unified command.
While there were a few cases of people who were in urgent need of medical assistance, more people were "simply stranded."
The American Red Cross Senior Director of Integrated Field Communications, Anthony Tornetta, said the organization was providing meals to communities and had dozens of emergency response vehicles in Florida.
"I can assure you that in the days and weeks and months ahead, the American Red Cross will continue to provide support for those impacted," he said.
Responding to a question about the number of dead, Bink said FEMA knew of 23 confirmed fatalities and reports of others.
She said approximately 10,000 were sheltering right now.
McPherson said there was not a good estimate regarding the number of people who remain stranded, adding that Sanibel would be "out of commission for some time."
The Atlantic hurricane season runs through Nov. 30. Although the Atlantic remains relatively quiet right now, Bink told Fox News Digital that the administration was "built for this."
"This is what we do. We have many levers at our disposal. We have a large cadre of reservists that are really the backbone of this agency that do the work in the field every day post-disaster. We also have a surge capacity force that was authorized by the secretary of DHS, which also frees up interagency volunteers to help support efforts," she replied. "We have many tools at our disposal disposal to also include local hires which bring competency of around the areas that we're serving. So, there's many tools at our disposal and we're ready. And, and this is what we do."
Biden 'particularly focused' on Florida power and water restoration, South Carolina damage, WH says
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden had been briefed on recent developments by the Chief of Staff and his Homeland Security Advisor.
"He was particularly focused on power and water restoration in FL, and new damage reports from SC. He asked for regular updates during the day as the storm progresses," she said.
SBA Adds Four Primary Counties to Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Ian
The SBA Small Business Administration announced the addition of several Florida counties to the disaster declaration for Hurricane Ian.
The move allows more Florida businesses and residents to be eligible to apply for the administration's low-interest disaster loan program.
The disaster declaration now covers Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and Seminole counties in Florida, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.
Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs): Brevard, Broward, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Pasco, Sumter and Volusia in Florida.
Businesses and private nonprofit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets.
Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed personal property.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/ and should apply under SBA declaration # 17644.
The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 29, 2023.
Hurricane Ian response in Florida: National Guard has nearly 5K soldiers, airmen on active duty
As of 7a.m. EDT Saturday, the National Guard had more than 4,690 soldiers and airmen on state active duty in Florida.
That total included members from Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Washington and Montana.
The Florida Guard has more than 1,300 ground assets actively engaged, including high-wheeled transports, fuel trucks, wreckers and rescue boats.
There are also 25 helicopters currently available for recovery operations.
In a release shared later, the Florida Guard said Joint Task Force Florida has 5,185 personnel activated and is executing missions in response to the storm.
"The Task Force is currently supporting 152 missions, including executing search and rescue (SAR) missions throughout southwest and central Florida," it said. "JTTF members have rescued and evacuated 1,076 civilians from flooded areas, to include transporting 78 civilians from a flooded elderly care facility, conducted two hoist rescues and a total of 178 rotary wing rescues."
A Defense official says the department continues to closely monitor the situation as Post-Tropical Storm Ian continues north.
"FEMA remains the lead Federal agency on these responses, and the Department of Defense remains in close communication and coordination with FEMA as recovery continue to ramp up," they noted.
FEMA administrator: Planning for rebuilding Florida communities is underway
Speaking to reporters in Orlando alongside Congresswoman Val Demings, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Sheriff John Mina, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said that it was important for her to see the impacts that Hurricane Ian had across Florida.
"We know that we're going to have along road to recovery ahead of us," she said, adding rebuilding planning efforts had already started.
Orange County was recently declared one of the eligible areas for full FEMA reimbursement.
Mayor Dyer said Orlando was "now down from 95,000 customers without power to somewhere around 7,000.
Criswell stressed that residents should contact their insurance companies to see what would be eligible and then file a claim, noting that every individual would have a unique situation.
South Carolina sees no deaths from Hurricane Ian
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said that while his state had some cleaning up and rebuilding to do following Hurricane Ian, there were no storm-related deaths.
"But, we had no storm-related deaths. We had no hospitals damaged. All water systems were and are okay. We had only a few cellular problems. Most of the electricity has been restored, and I need to add, in record pace," he said in a Saturday press conference with state officials.
The governor thanked first responders, as well as the 52 million South Carolinians who listened to officials.
He called it another good story for South Carolina.
"And, we're open for business," McMaster said.
The storm brought peak wind gusts at 92 miles per hour in Charleston Harbor and Ian brought down a significant amount of trees.
Storm surge was significant along the Georgetown coast, where the hurricane made landfall.
5.63 inches of rain were record at Charleston Airport.
Kim Stenson, the director of the State Emergency Management Division, said at least three counties had infrastructure damage, at least eight had residential, five had business damage and six electric cooperatives had "some level of damage."
He advised residents to check their homes for damage and mold.
There were record reported outages on Friday, totaling 239,349.
However, as of noon on Saturday, there were just over 35,000.
Ian is the first hurricane to make landfall in South Carolina since Matthew in 2016.
The National Guard and the highway patrol were being demobilized.
North Port Fire Rescue overwhelmed with flooding 911 calls
A source in North Port Fire Rescue told Fox News that its first responders have a backlog of more than 500 addresses to get to, mostly due to flooding in the area.
"We know you're hurting. Our first responders and partners are working hard to get our community the help it needs," the department said in a Facebook post. "Look out for your neighbors. We will persevere."
On Friday they wrote that the need for help hasn't stopped and that the fire department is working around the clock.
"Strike teams from around the country have arrived to assist with response. The support is greatly appreciated," it said then.
Lake County Fire Chief Jim Dickerson mentioned in an earlier briefing that his crews had deployed to North Port to assist with the backlog.