Dozens of dead as a result of one of the strongest storms to hit the United States

CHARLESTON, SC — Rescuers searched for survivors amid the ruins of Florida homes flooded by Hurricane Ian, while South Carolina authorities waited for daylight to assess the damage from the storm’s second strike as remnants one of the strongest and the costliest disasters to ever hit the US continued to move northward.

For most of the week, the powerful storm terrorized millions of people of western Cuba before passing through Florida from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, where he mustered enough forces for the final assault on South Carolina. It has since weakened to a still-dangerous post-tropical cyclone and crossed North Carolina toward Virginia overnight, pushing heavy rain toward the Mid-Atlantic states.

At least 30 people have been confirmed dead, including 27 people in Florida mostly from drowning, but others from the tragic effects of the storm. An elderly couple died after their oxygen machines shut off due to a power outage, authorities said. Meanwhile, distraught residents waded through knee-high water on Friday, rescuing what they could from their flooded homes and loading them onto rafts and canoes.

RELATED: Ian strikes South Carolina as death toll rises in Florida

“I want to sit in the corner and cry. I don’t know what else to do,” Stevie Scuderi said after sorting through her nearly destroyed apartment in Fort Myers, kitchen dirt stuck to her purple sandals.

In South Carolina, the center of Ian made landfall near Georgetown, a small community along Winnah Bay, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of historic Charleston. The storm washed away parts of four marinas along the coast, including two connected to the popular tourist town of Myrtle Beach.

The storm’s winds were much weaker on Friday than when Ian made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast earlier in the week. There, authorities and volunteers were still assessing the damage, while shocked residents tried to make sense of what they had just been through.

Anthony Rivera, 25, said he had to climb through the window of his first-floor apartment during the storm to get his grandmother and girlfriend to the second floor. As they rushed to escape the rising water, a storm surge brought the boat right next to his apartment.

“It’s the worst thing in the world because I can’t stop any boat,” he said. “I’m not Superman.”

Although Ian had long passed over Florida, new problems continued to arise. A 14-mile (22-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 75 was closed Friday night in both directions in the Port Charlotte area due to high water levels in the Mecca River.

The official death toll rose throughout the day on Friday, and authorities warned it was likely to rise much higher as crews made a more complete assessment of the damage. Friday’s search was focused on emergency rescues and initial assessments, said Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie. He cited one flooded house as an example.

“The water was rising above the roof, yes, but we had a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who swam into it and he was able to identify what appeared to be human remains. We don’t know exactly how much,” Guthrie said.

The dead included a 68-year-old woman who was swept into the ocean by a wave, and a 67-year-old man who fell into rising water in his home while waiting to be rescued.

Authorities also said a 22-year-old woman died after her ATV overturned due to a washed-out road, and a 71-year-old man died when he fell from a roof while installing blinds. Three more people died in Cuba earlier this week.

Hurricane Ian likely caused “more than $100 billion” in damage, including $63 billion in damage, according to disaster modeling firm Karen Clark & ​​Company, which regularly issues express disaster estimates. in the form of private insurance losses. If confirmed, these numbers would make Ian at least the fourth deadliest hurricane in US history.

RELATED: A fishing boat was blown 8 miles down the coast by Hurricane Ian.

In the Sarasota suburb of North Point, Florida, residents of the Country Club Ridge subdivision waded through flooded streets Friday. John Chigil solemnly towed a canoe and another small boat through ankle-deep water.

“There is really nothing to feel. It’s an act of God, you know?” he said. “I mean, all you can do is pray and hope for a better day tomorrow.”

Gomez Licon reported from Punta Gorda, Florida; Associated Press contributors include Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Fla., Terry Spencer, Tim Reynolds and Fort Myers, Fla.; Cody Jackson in Tampa, Florida; Frida Frisar in Miami; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Daniel Kozin in North Port, Florida; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Bobby Cain Calvan in New York and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina.