We are pausing our live coverage for now. You can read the latest on Hurricane Ian as it moves towards South Carolina here:
Summary
With South Carolina bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Ian on Friday morning, search and rescue operations in Florida continued throughout Thursday as the scale of devastation wrought by one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the US mainland became clear.
There is still no indication of the death toll at this stage, although the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, said he “fully expects” mortality and Joe Biden fears it could be the deadliest storm in Florida’s history.
At 2am in Florida, here is what we know:
President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in South Carolina, where Ian is expected to make landfall on Friday morning after once again strengthening to hurricane force. The storm is expected to strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges to the coasts of South Carolina and south-eastern North Carolina.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said in a press conference on Thursday that more than 700 people had been rescued by the Coast Guard and other organizations following the storm.
The number of deaths from Ian remains unknown, with DeSantis refusing to speculate on the possible toll in his evening update. Reports indicated at least four confirmed deaths, however, with local officials suggesting there would be more. Biden had earlier said Ian could prove to be the deadliest storm in Florida history.
DeSantis has reportedly asked Biden for federal disaster recovery funding, despite strongly opposing such measures in the past.
An early study, which has not been peer-reviewed, suggests climate change added 10% to Ian’s rainfall totals. Forecasters predict Ian will have dropped up to two feet (61cm) of rain in parts of Florida by the time it stops.
More than 2.2 million households and businesses are still without power in Florida, with DeSantis saying thousands of people were working to restore essential services in hard hit areas.
Some wastewater facilities in Florida are discharging untreated sewage as storms overwhelm them, leading to untold environmental impacts.
Updated
