Ian makes a second U.S. landfall in South Carolina: Live updates (2024)

Storm status

Posted September 30, 2022 at 5:23 PM EDT

National Hurricane Center

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NPR

Ian has now dropped to the category of a post-tropical cyclone.

In its 5 p.m. ET advisory Friday, the National Hurricane Center said Ian has been downgraded from a hurricane to what is considered a “post-tropical cyclone” with sustained winds of 70 mph.

All hurricane warnings and watches have been discontinued, according to officials.

While Ian has been downgraded, the NHC emphasizes the threat of flash flooding and high winds that may occur.

Hazards continue

Posted September 30, 2022 at 5:13 PM EDT

Andrew Harnik

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AP

Ian is still considered an extreme threat to everyone in its path as the storm moves across South Carolina, FEMA officials say.

During a news conference Friday, the agency warned that the storm is continuing to impact parts of South Carolina and Georgia as areas are experiencing heavy rain, heavy winds and flooding.

“All the hazards that we’ve seen in Florida can impact those further up the coast,” said Anne Bink, an assistant administrator with FEMA.

So far, nearly 3,000 federal responders in Florida and across the Southeast are assisting with storm recovery efforts, according to Bink.

Power outages

Posted September 30, 2022 at 4:56 PM EDT

More than 200,000 electricity customers in South Carolina were without power on Friday after Hurricane Ian made landfall, according to PowerOutage.us.

"Crews will be working around the clock to get the lights back on as quickly and safely as possible," Dominion Energy, one of the state's leading power providers, said in a tweet.

Dominion urges customers across the state to avoid downed trees and power lines as a result of the storm and to report them immediately to the company.

In Florida, where Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, more than 1.7 million customers were without power Friday afternoon.

The response

Posted September 30, 2022 at 2:43 PM EDT

President Biden said he has directed federal emergency responders to take every possible action to save lives and get help to survivors of Hurricane Ian.

"Every single minute counts. It’s not just a crisis for Florida, it’s an American crisis," Biden said at the White House on Friday.

The president said at least 117 people had been rescued so far — including a 94-year-old woman who was lifted into a helicopter and a 1-month-old baby.

Biden said Ian is likely to rank among the worst in U.S. history, noting that it could take years to rebuild from the damage.

"We see what you’re going through and we’re with you. We’ll do everything we can for you," Biden said in his message to Floridians.

The president praised utility workers and Red Cross volunteers from around the country who were working to help with recovery.

"At times like these, Americans come together, they put aside politics, they put aside division, and we come together to help each other," he said.

Landfall again

Posted September 30, 2022 at 2:33 PM EDT

Hurricane Ian is creating chaos along the South Carolina shore, where the National Hurricane Center said it made landfall south of Georgetown as a Category 1 storm Friday afternoon. The town is about 60 miles northeast of Charleston.

As it arrived, Ian was flooding beach areas and residential neighborhoods with storm surges and massive rainfall, sending seawater flowing over roads.

As of 2 p.m. ET, Ian was carrying maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. In a sign of the many threats posed by Ian, the state of South Carolina was under more than 85 weather warnings, watches and alerts as of 2 p.m.

An early impact

Posted September 30, 2022 at 1:51 PM EDT

Hurricane Ian’s storm surge is sending seawater flowing over roads along some of South Carolina’s most popular beach areas, as the large storm nears landfall Friday afternoon.

Police in Horry County, which includes Myrtle Beach, posted video of the ocean rushing toward streets from access paths in Garden City, along with torrential rain and flooded roads. The agency is urging anyone in the area to stay off the roads.

Further to the south, a local TV news crew captured high water rippling along a causeway at Pawleys Island.

Horry County work crews spent recent days building up sand berms, hoping to protect the beaches from the storm’s damaging erosion and other effects.

Forecast

Posted September 30, 2022 at 1:08 PM EDT

In its latest update, the National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Ian is about 60 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C., after crossing Central Florida and moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. As of Thursday morning, Ian had been a tropical storm but regained hurricane strength late in the afternoon. Since then it has remained a Category 1 hurricane.

According to the NHC update:

“The center of Ian will reach the coast of South Carolina today, and then move farther inland across eastern South Carolina and central North Carolina tonight and Saturday.

“Maximum sustained winds remain near 85 mph (140 km/h) with higher gusts. Ian should maintain about the same strength before landfall later, then weaken and rapidly transition into a post-tropical cyclone overnight. Ian should dissipate over western North Carolina or Virginia late Saturday.”

On the ground

Posted September 30, 2022 at 12:23 PM EDT

As Hurricane Ian approached Florida earlier this week, officials in many coastal communities urged residents to evacuate. The Tampa region's Manatee County was one such place.

Some people stayed behind, hoping the storm would spare them the worst — and it did, inflicting far worse damage to the south. Even though more than 100,000 customers in Manatee County are without power, many people are feeling pretty lucky with how they fared.

Stephanie Colombini of member station WUSF in Tampa spoke with people on Anna Maria Island, just across the bay. They shared their sense of relief as well as their concerns for other parts of the state. County officials have also pledged to help their southern neighbors rebuild.

"I don't have power, I don't have water but it's all right," one resident told Colombini. "I'm just glad everybody's safe and the island is still attached."

Listen here to her beachside report on Morning Edition, which includes the sounds of unusually massive waves.

Briefing

Posted September 30, 2022 at 10:53 AM EDT

Win McNamee

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Getty Images

Florida officials gave an update on Friday morning about where the state's power outages and restoration efforts stand.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said that 1.9 million customers were still without power as of 6 a.m. ET. The hardest-hit counties are:

• Hardee, where 99% of people are out of power
• Charlotte and Lee counties, which are 85% out of power
• DeSoto, which is at 80% without

Close to half of customers in Sarasota, Collier and Manatee counties are without power, while about 15-18% of those in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are experiencing outages.

DeSantis said crews of some 42,000 linemen and associated personnel have been working on the ground 24/7 since the moment it was safe to do so.

He also mentioned that 117 healthcare facilities lost power but have since had it restored. Six facilities in southwest Florida evacuated their patients to due prolonged problems with either power or water, he added.

Florida's Department of Transportation has cleared more than 1,100 miles of roadway, DeSantis said, noting that traffic is flowing in many places despite the fact that several of the bridges that experienced structural problems (in Pine Island and Sanibel) will have to be rebuilt.

Authorities have inspected and reopened 800 bridges across the state, including 67 designated high-priority bridges in Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Member Station Reports

Staying Informed

Posted September 30, 2022 at 10:24 AM EDT

Scott Olson

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Getty Images

As Ian moves north along the Atlantic, here's how to get the latest storm updates from across the region:

Sign up for alerts

You can sign up for real-time alerts by making sure your phone is set to receive emergency alerts from local, state and federal public safety authorities, as well as downloading the FEMA app.

Get state and local updates

You can monitor the social media accounts of the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has this handy list of Hurricane Ian resources (including forecasts, evacuation and shelter information, maps, accounts to follow and safety resources) all on one webpage.

If you want to stay informed while conserving your phone battery and data usage, visit NPR's text-only site at https://text.npr.org.

Georgia

You can follow the Georgia Emergency Management Agency on Twitter and Facebook, as well as the websites and social media pages of your county government and emergency management.

Atlanta, Savannah (GPB)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Emergency Information Center

Atlanta, Savannah (WABE)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

South Carolina

You can follow the South Carolina Emergency Management Division on Twitter and Facebook, as well as the websites and social media pages of your county government and emergency management.

South Carolina Public Radio

• Twitter
• Facebook

North Carolina

You can follow the North Carolina Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook, as well as the websites and social media pages of your county government and emergency management.

Asheville (Blue Ridge Public Radio)

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Live blog

Charlotte (WFAE)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Live blog

Durham-Chapel Hill (WUNC)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Live blog

Wilmington (WHQR)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

Florida

You can follow the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Twitterand Facebook, as well as the websites and social media pages of your county government and emergency management.

Here's how to keep up with your local station:

Tampa Bay (WUSF)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Live blog

Miami (WLRN)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Live blog

Fort Myers (WGCU)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

Orlando (WMFE)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

Jacksonville (WJCT)

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
  

Briefing

Posted September 30, 2022 at 10:03 AM EDT

Sean Rayford

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Getty Images

Officials in Florida have confirmed one fatality associated with Hurricane Ian and 20 other deaths that could potentially be a result of the storm.

At a press briefing on Friday morning, Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said that the single confirmed fatality happened in Polk County, which is in the central part of the state.

Of the unconfirmed fatalities, eight were in Collier County and 12 were in Charlotte County. Guthrie said responders are still conducting search efforts in Lee County.

He also referenced a "situation" in which a coast guard rescue swimmer was able to swim into a house where water was "up over the rooftop" and found what appeared to be human remains. Guthrie said the exact number is unclear, and did not elaborate on where the house was located.

He declined to answer a question about how many people are missing, saying that information must come from local law enforcement. He did say that the state has sent surveys to more than 20,000 Floridians who sheltered in place, and that more than 10,000 have responded already to say that they are safe.

It's up to medical examiners at the local level to investigate deaths and determine whether they were directly related to elements of the hurricane — like storm surge and rising waters — or whether they happened in the lead-up or aftermath of the storm.

It's critically important for people to stay alert as they go about cleaning up, Guthrie warned. He stressed the importance of personal responsibility in several areas:

Generator safety: Portable generators should only be run outside and away from water. Guthrie says officials are getting reports of people operating generators inside garages, just outside of windows with cords running through them or dangerously close to puddles of water. He stressed the state is having carbon monoxide issues, though not necessarily deaths.

Chainsaws, ladders and wires: "If you don't know what it is, don't cut it," Guthrie said. "If you don't know how to cut it, don't cut it." He urged people to watch for downed wires when clearing up debris and rely on professionals for help.

Clearing debris: Guthrie said more information will come at a briefing later today, but that people who are starting to clean up their properties now must separate items into piles: vegetation, structural, household hazardous waste, electronics and appliances. People should wear boots, gloves and goggles while doing that. And if things are too heavy for you to move, get help, he added, pointing that responders and even faith-based and community volunteers will be willing to assist.

"These are absolutely avoidable deaths and absolutely avoidable injuries," he said.

Education

By Meg Anderson

Posted September 30, 2022 at 9:25 AM EDT

Joe Raedle

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Getty Images

Millions of K-12 students missed school this week in Florida, as nearly every public school district in the state closed its buildings during the onslaught of Hurricane Ian.

At least 55 of Florida's 67 public school districts closed for at least one day, according to the state's department of education, district websites and social media. The districts that remained open were largely in the state's panhandle.

That amounts to more than 2.5 million students out of school, based on the most recently available federal data on public school enrollment. Around 1.7 million of those students missed three days or more, and several districts have yet to announce their reopening plans.

Hillsborough County Public Schools, which includes Tampa and is one of the largest districts affected, closed for all five days to prepare its schools to serve as emergency shelters. With more than 200,000 students, the district is the nation's 6th largest.

This week, the district sheltered around 9,000 people, and 28 school-based shelters are still open, according to Superintendent Addison Davis.

Davis says he's concerned about lost instructional time.

"We had great momentum taking place at the start of the year. This year was the first year we kind of felt like we had some normalcy," Davis says, referring to the pandemic disruptions of the two previous years. "So we got to regain that ... and really create that momentum back once again."

Interview

First person

Posted September 30, 2022 at 8:49 AM EDT

Nick Underwood flies into hurricanes for a living, as a hurricane hunter with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

His job isn't just about chasing thrills. The data his team collects have a direct impact on forecast models and evacuation orders on the ground, and he calls that knowledge "a heavy thing."

Underwood believes it's a public service to help get out emergency messages and forecast data, even though the work comes with challenges — like seeing communities destroyed by storms, and, in the case of Hurricane Ian, getting a bit thrown around himself.

Underwood has been flying into hurricanes for six years, and told NPR's Morning Edition that this one was especially rough.

"We got to the eyewall, which is the worst part of the storm, and it just keeps going for what felt like forever," he said. "With this storm, for whatever reason, there was a lot of lateral motion, so a lot of getting tossed side to side."

There are areas that are too dangerous to fly into, like lower altitudes or more violent parts of the eyewall. Hurricane Ian gave NOAA a unique opportunity to try out an experimental uncrewed aerial system to collect data from these spots — or as Underwood put it, "places like that ... we look at that on a radar and we say, 'No thank you.' "

In general, Underwood describes the experience of flying into powerful hurricanes with a palpable mixture of awe and fear.

"Especially with the more powerful storms — usually the Category 3s and above — you get what's called that 'stadium effect,' where you're sort of just in the bottom of this big bowl with the cloud tops around you rising up, and that is certainly beautiful to look at it," he says. "But it's one thing to sit there and appreciate it, and your thoughts also drift to, 'Oh man, in some cases, this is gonna go hit somebody's house.' "

Underwood has been documenting his flights and answering questions on Twitter. Here's some footage from before, during and after what he called "the roughest flight of my career so far."

forecast

Posted September 30, 2022 at 8:31 AM EDT

NOAA/NWS/NCEP

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WPC

Hurricane Ian isn’t expected to make landfall in South Carolina until this afternoon, but flooding has already forced at least 16 road closures in Charleston’s historic downtown.

The closures are scattered around the city, from the central intersection of Huger and King streets to roads along the waterfront. As of early Friday, the closures were mainly on low-lying streets that are prone to flooding, the Charleston Police Department said.

"We urge only essential travel," the agency said.

Much of the Charleston metro area is also under a flash flood warning that was issued at around 6 a.m. ET. It lasts until noon — and then the hurricane will arrive. The latest forecast track predicts Ian will make landfall northeast of Charleston, between the city and Myrtle Beach.

Some roads started flooding before dawn, as Ian’s heavy rain bands dropped 1 to 2 inches of water on the city, according to the National Weather Service office in Charleston. Another 2 to 6 inches of rain could fall, it warned.

“As tide levels increase and rain intensifies, areas of flash flooding are likely to develop ahead of Hurricane Ian,” the NWS office stated.

Flash flooding is expected to hit a number of popular tourist areas, such as Folly Beach to Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms. Further inland, floods will also likely hit North Charleston, the office said.

on the ground

Posted September 30, 2022 at 8:05 AM EDT

Marta Lavandier

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AP

Utility crews have restored electric service to hundreds of thousands of people in Florida — but more than 2 million customers still lack power as of Friday morning, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us.

That’s an improvement on the more than 2.6 million customers in Florida who were without electricity service on Thursday.

The worst outages are along the path Hurricane Ian carved through the state, with Lee and Charlotte counties suffering widespread power failures. But near-total outages are also reported in inland counties such as Hardee and Highlands.

To the north, virtually no outages are reported in Georgia. But South Carolina’s utilities are beginning to report outages, as Ian moves toward landfall there.

On the ground

Posted September 30, 2022 at 7:50 AM EDT

Giorgio Viera

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AFP via Getty Images

Communities in Florida are starting to take stock of the hurricane damage. Insurance claims by businesses and homeowners are expected to be as high as $40-50 billion.

NPR's Greg Allan saw some of that destruction firsthand.

He tells Morning Edition that while some bridges and piers were destroyed by the storm, the roads he was driving on were mostly clear of debris. Power is slowly coming back to parts of the state: Some 200,000 customers regained power in southwest Florida yesterday, though some 2 million are still without it.

Still, places like the barrier islands will need to rebuild their infrastructure from the ground up, which will take time. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says cell phone service should improve as phone companies start bringing in portable cell towers.

There's been no official word on fatalities yet, though local officials put that number at about a dozen so far.

Authorities are warning people to be careful with things like portable generators and chainsaws in the aftermath of the storm — since those sorts of accidents have historically accounted for more deaths than the weather itself. Here are tips for dealing with power outages.

On the ground

Posted September 30, 2022 at 7:44 AM EDT

Jim Watson

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AFP via Getty Images

Hurricane Ian is poised to make landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 storm today after devastating parts of Florida on Wednesday.

Since then, communities along Florida's Gulf Coast have begun the process of rescue and recovery. NPR's Greg Allen visited some of the hardest-hit areas yesterday, and spoke to Morning Edition about what he saw (you can listen here).

Lee and Charlotte counties took the most direct hit, with the low-lying barrier islands getting the brunt of the storm surge.

"On Fort Myers Beach, houses were just wiped away, leaving only slabs behind," Allen says. "Boats were tossed around and piled up in the marinas and on land by the storm surge. On Sanibel Island, several sections of the community's only causeway were washed away. That leaves residents there without power or water, and cut off from the mainland."

Win McNamee

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Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said yesterday that some residents of Sanibel have declined evacuation offers by rescue crews. But some 700 people throughout the state were rescued from flooded homes, a number that could turn out to be much higher.

In Charlotte County, NPR journalists saw water as much as 6 feet deep in some places. In North Port, they saw a group of neighbors using small boats to ferry people, pets and possessions out of flooded homes.

Craig Brown, his wife Kelly and son Jonas used two kayaks to paddle themselves, their dog and two cats to safety. Kelly says the storm surge flooded their neighborhood's canals and sent more than 3 feet of water into their house. How did they get out?

"If you have family or somebody that has a kayak or something, people are getting themselves out," she says.

A local rescue crew arrived that afternoon, in a scene that played out in communities across the state.