After making landfall in Florida, Hurricane Ian left over 2.5 million people without power, and likely hundreds dead according to local authorities.

The hurricane was demoted to a tropical storm on Sept. 29, before quickly becoming a hurricane again, leaving Florida to deal with the aftermath. Though not confirmed, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno predicts that the number of fatalities in Florida has reached hundreds.

Ian made landfall on Florida’s west coast as a category 4 hurricane on Sept. 28 and has wreaked havoc since. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in a press conference on Sept. 29 that the state was facing unprecedented amounts of storm surge. Over 500 people were rescued in Lee and Charlotte counties according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. In Lee County, a large hospital system evacuated over 1,000 patients after the hurricane cut off their water supply. Fort Myers Mayor Liston Bochette said that large parts of the city lost access to sewage, power and water systems. 

On Sept. 29, the National Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Ian is headed toward the Carolinas and Georgia. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster issued a state of emergency on Sept. 28; Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Brian Kemp of Georgia followed.