Ian floods South Carolina, raises Florida’s death toll

The National Hurricane Center reported that Ian degraded to a post-tropical storm on Friday evening, hours after making landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane. Overnight on Friday, the storm moved onshore over North Carolina, bringing the possibility of flash flooding and severe gusts to that state.

The hurricane center said that Ian made landfall just after 2 p.m. on Friday in Georgetown, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. The NHC predicted that Ian would diminish on Saturday and disappear early on Sunday.

As of late Friday night, the storm’s core was around 60 miles southeast of Greensboro, North Carolina, according to the NHC. It had sustained winds of 50 mph and was traveling 15 mph to the north.

In Florida, the extent of the storm’s destruction was becoming clearer as rescue attempts resumed and power and water disruptions remained. Friday’s photographs revealed widespread destruction and catastrophic flooding.

State emergency officials reported 21 fatalities as of Friday morning, but they are unsure if they are all directly attributable to the storm. In addition, the sheriff’s office has reported two storm-related fatalities in Volusia County. As workers continue their search efforts, the number of fatalities could grow as officials learn more about the losses from Ian.