Ian arrives in North Carolina after bringing flooding, damage to South Carolina; death toll rises in Florida

Ian weakened to a post-tropical storm Friday evening, the National Hurricane Center said, hours after making landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm was moving inland over North Carolina overnight Friday, bringing the potential of flash flooding and gusty winds to that state.

The hurricane center said Ian made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, just after 2 p.m. Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. Ian was expected to weaken Saturday and “dissipate early Sunday,” the NHC reported.

The center of the storm was 60 miles southeast of Greensboro, North Carolina as of late Friday night, the NHC reported. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, and was moving north at 15 mph. 

In Florida, the scope of devastation from the storm was starting to become clear, as rescue missions continued and power and water outages persisted. New images on Friday showed extensive wreckage and disastrous flooding. 

State emergency officials announced 21 deaths as of Friday morning, however they’re not sure if all are directly related to the storm. Additionally, in Volusia County, the sheriff’s department has confirmed two storm-related deaths there. As crews continue to conduct searches, the death toll could rise as officials learn more about the losses from Ian.