Hurricane Ian: Revived storm pounds South Carolina as death toll rises to 27

While Myrtle Beach airport says it will remain open, flights have been cancelled at Charleston International Airport as winds pick-up on Friday morning.

The airport said ahead of Ian’s landfall that it would close if wind speeds reached 40mph or more – which forecasts appear to suggest is already the case.

The airport’s website lists more than a dozen flights cancelled, as per FlightRadar24.

Meanwhile at Myrtle, airport officials said ahead of Friday that “As critical infrastructure, MYR does not close. Airlines may elect to delay/cancel flights during inclement weather. To check the status of your flight, please contact your airline.”

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Bevan Hurley has the story:

The National Weather Service has recorded a 66 mile per hour (106 kilometre per hour) wind gust on a beach just south of Charleston, SC and a 74 mph (119 kph) – meaning hurricane-force – wind gust on a buoy offshore.

Conditions in South Carolina and nearby areas of Georgia and North Carolina are expected to deteriorate over the day as Hurricane Ian makes its second landfall in the US.

A steady stream of vehicles left the South Carolina city of Charleston on Thursday as Hurricane Ian approached.

People have been advised to seek higher ground as a 7ft storm surge was forecast for the South Carolina coastline.

As Meg Kinard reports, storefronts in Charleston were sandbagged to ward off high water levels:

Almost 2 million customers in Florida are still in the dark, two days after Hurricane Ian made landfall near Fort Myers, according to poweroutage.us.

Power outages are concentrated in the band across the southwestern to central part of the state where Ian stretched, and heaviest in the Gulf Coast counties that got a direct impact.

In Lee and Charlotte counties, which saw the worst hit, more than 80 per cent of customers are still in the dark. In Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, homes to cities like St Petersburg and Tampa around the bay, a little less than 20 per cent of customers are without power.

Thousands of electrical workers are working to get power restored, and electricity is slowly starting to come back to some areas – earlier, at least 2.6 million customers were without power.

But the damage in some areas, like Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel, is extremely severe, which could mean officials need longer to get power and utilities running again.

At least 700 rescues were carried out in Florida on Thursday involving the US Coast Guard, the National Guard and urban search-and-rescue teams, said Florida governor Ron DeSantis. At least five people have been confirmed dead in the state after Ian made landfall with devastating wind speeds on Wednesday. Many towns and cities are only just beginning to asses the damage.

Both Mr DeSantis and US President Joe Biden have warned of substantial losses of life, atlhough no figures have yet been confirmed.

“This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” Mr Biden said on Thursday.  “Numbers are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life ... I spoke with the commissioners and they are worried.”

A water main break in Lee County, Florida, home to Fort Myers and Cape Coral, has ledft many residents without running water. Early Friday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis said officials are inspecting the damage, which may be severe enough to require a rebuild.

The City of Charleston is already reporting some roads closed on account of flooding as Hurricane Ian moves in closer to the city Friday morning.

More than a dozen roads have all lanes closed due to floods, and local officials are urging people to stay home and off the roads as South Carolina braces for impact.

Parts of the Charleston area are under a flash flood warning as heavy rains begin and the tide comes in. In addition, storm surge from the hurricane is expected to push ocean waters between four and seven feet (1.2 - 2.1 metres) above normal.

Charleston, which sits at a very low elevation, is extremely vulnerable to flooding, even during sunny days with particularly high tides. That danger will only grow as the climate crisis pushes sea levels higher over the coming decades.

With just three feet of sea level rise, many areas in downtown Charleston could be inundated.

Images from southwest Florida continue to show the extent of the damage sustained by dozens of communities by Hurricane Ian, which has left 2m people without power, thousands misplaced or awaiting rescue, and millions of dollars in costs.

In Fort Myers, which has been badly devastated by Ian, many boats were seen washed ashore – landing in the middle of roads and on top of badly damaged houses.

Not all parts of southwest Florida have seen floodwater subside, however the extent of the damage is only just beginning to be seen.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said his office was scrambling to respond to thousands of 911 calls in the Fort Myers area, but many roads and bridges were impassable, the Associated Press reported.

Many in the hardest-hit areas were unable to call for help because of electrical and cellular outages, while roads have been blockedby damaged trees, building debris, and broken-down boats and cars.

Kevin Guthrie, the head of Florida’s division of emergency management said that there are 21 deaths in three counties in the wake of Hurricane Ian, many unconfirmed.

There is one confirmed death in Polk County, 12 unconfirmed deaths in Charlotte County and eight unconfirmed deaths in Collier County, he said.

Medical officials need to make an assessment of the causes of death to determine whether deaths were directly or indirectly caused by the storm.