John arrives in North Carolina after causing flooding and damage to South Carolina; Florida death toll rises

Ian weakened to a post-tropical storm Friday night National Hurricane Center said hours after the Category 1 hurricane made landfall in South Carolina. The storm moved into North Carolina overnight Friday, bringing the potential for flash flooding and gusty winds to the 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. Yang was expected to weaken Saturday and “dissipate early Sunday,” the NHC said.

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

In Florida, the extent of the storm’s devastation was beginning to emerge as rescue efforts continued and power and water outages continued. New images on Friday showed large debris and catastrophic flooding.

State emergency officials reported 21 deaths as of Friday morning, but they are not sure if all of them are directly related to the storm. Also in Volusia County, the Sheriff’s Department confirmed two deaths related to the storm. As crews continue to search, the death toll could rise if officials learn more from Ian about the loss.