Forecasters expect Hurricane Ian to cause life-threatening storm surges in the Carolinas on Friday after unleashing devastation in Florida, where it left a yet unknown number of dead in its wake.

After weakening across Florida, Ian regained its Category 1 status in the Atlantic Ocean and was headed toward the Carolinas, the US National Hurricane Center said Friday.

"Flooding rains (are) likely across the Carolinas and southwestern Virginia," the NHC added.

The storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the United States, left hundreds of people in need of rescue in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said, warning it was too early to get a clear picture of the death toll.

"We absolutely expect to have mortality from this hurricane," he said Thursday.

DeSantis said concrete information about casualty numbers could be expected "in the coming days."

President Joe Biden, after a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters, said "this could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history."

The numbers "are still unclear, but we're hearing reports of what may be substantial loss of life," he said Thursday.

Biden later declared an emergency in South Carolina, ordering federal assistance in response efforts, according to a White House statement.

The NHC has issued a hurricane warning for the entire coast of South Carolina as well as portions of Georgia and North Carolina.

Ian would likely make landfall on Friday, the NHC said, and then "rapidly weaken over the southeastern United States late Friday into Saturday."

- 'Horrifying' -

Fort Myers, where Ian came ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday, took much of the brunt, as streets became rivers and seawater poured into houses.

Dozens of boats moored in the marina were sunk while others were tossed onto downtown streets.

DeSantis described the destruction in the southwest part of his state as a "500-year flood event."

"We've never seen storm surge of this magnitude," he said.

Tom Johnson of Fort Myers had a front row seat to the destruction from his apartment on the second floor of a two-story harbourside building.

"I was scared because I've never been through that," the 54-year-old told AFP. "It was just the most horrifying sounds with debris flying everywhere, doors flying off."

His home was undamaged but one of his neighbors, Janelle Thil, was not so lucky and had to ask other residents for help after her ground floor apartment began to flood.

"They got my dogs and then I jumped out of the window and swam," the 42-year-old said.

When Thil returned to her apartment after the storm passed, she said she opened the door and "had to wait about five minutes for all the floodwaters to come out."

"I loved my home," she said. "But I'm alive and that's what matters."

A US Coast Guard official said Thursday that helicopter crews were plucking people from the rooftops of homes inundated by floodwaters.

Eighteen migrants were missing from a boat that sank during the hurricane on Wednesday, though nine others had been rescued, the Coast Guard said. Among them were four Cubans who swam to shore in the Florida Keys.

- 'Major disaster' -

Much of Florida's southwest coast was plunged into darkness after the storm wiped out power.

Tracking website PowerOutage.us said 2.1 million homes and businesses remained without electricity in the Sunshine State on Friday.

Two barrier islands near Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel Island, popular with vacationers, were essentially cut off when the storm damaged causeways to the mainland.

Sanibel got "hit with really biblical storm surge," DeSantis said, and rescuers were using boats and helicopters to evacuate residents who rode out the storm.

Biden has declared a "major disaster" in Florida, a move that frees up federal funding for storm relief.

"I want the people of Florida to know that we will be here at every step of the way," he tweeted.

- Cuba power out -

Before pummeling Florida, Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness after downing the island's power network.

Electricity was gradually returning Thursday, but many homes remain without power.

Laura Mujica joined dozens of Cuban women gathered in the capital Havana on Thursday to demand electricity be restored in the city.

"We took to the street, because we haven't had electricity for several days and we are tired of it.

"We women decided to take to the streets to empower ourselves and protest so that the electricity will be fixed," said the 20-year-old.

At least two people died in Pinar del Rio province, state media in the country of more than 11 million reported.

Human-induced climate change is resulting in more severe weather events across the globe, scientists say.

Hurricane Ian brings fear to Florida, leaving destruction in its wake
Mcgregor, United States (AFP) Sept 29, 2022 - Suzanne Clarke wades through waist-deep water, struggling to reach her daughter's apartment as she drags a kayak behind her.

When she finally reaches the home, she loads her two small granddaughters into the boat and pushes them toward higher ground, where she has parked her car on a freeway.

The building where Clarke's daughter lives, in McGregor, a small city in southwestern Florida, was flooded Wednesday as Hurricane Ian thrashed over the community, which is situated along the Caloosahatchee River.

"I am very stressed, it's been rough," said 54-year-old Clarke. "I came early. The water was really, really high and I was scared."

A day after Ian's fury was unleashed, the inhabitants of Lee County -- one of the areas most affected by the storm -- are left to count the damage inflicted over the last several hours, now standing under a radiantly sunny sky.

Some six miles (10 kilometers) away in Iona, only a few particularly tall cars dare to navigate through a flooded street.

Resident Ronnie Sutton spent the night with a friend in a town south of here called Cabo Coral. Even though he hasn't been able to get to his house yet, he is sure the water has destroyed everything.

"It's terrible," the 67-year-old said. "I guess this is the price you pay for being at sea level. Sometimes it comes back to bite you."

- Boats in the middle of the street -

Ian battered this section of southwestern Florida for hours on Wednesday, leaving behind scenes of destruction, including splintered trees, felled traffic lights and shattered glass.

In Fort Meyers, a quiet city of approximately 83,000 people, the rising Caloosahatchee River pushed dozens of small boats -- usually anchored at the local marina -- up into the streets of downtown, where they remained Thursday on the now-dry ground.

Tom Johnson witnessed the flooding up close from his apartment on the second floor of a two-story building.

Wednesday afternoon, he saw how the hurricane propelled two boats up into his complex's courtyard in a matter of just five minutes.

"I was scared because I've never been through that," recalled 54-year-old Johnson, whose home was not damaged, gesturing to the crafts still laying there.

"It was just the most horrifying sounds, with debris flying everywhere, doors flying off."

One of Johnson's neighbors, Janelle Thil, was not as lucky. Her ground-floor apartment began to flood, but she was able to ask another resident for help to get out.

"They got my dogs and then I jumped out of the window and swam over there," Thil said, pointing to a vacant second-floor unit where she and others took refuge.

The 42-year-old had finished clearing out the mud that found its way into her home, and began gathering her few possessions that were not lost in the flood.

"I cried a little bit when I finally got to my apartment," she said. "Opened the door and I had to wait about five minutes for all the floodwaters to come out."

"I loved my home, but I'm alive and that's what matters."

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Hurricane Ian pounds Florida as a monster storm
Punta Gorda, United States (AFP) Sept 29, 2022
Hurricane Ian plunged much of coastal southwest Florida into darkness Wednesday, as the monster storm brought "catastrophic" storm surges, wind and flooding that had officials readying a huge emergency response. The US Border Patrol said 20 migrants were missing after their boat sank, with four Cubans swimming to shore in the Florida Keys islands and three rescued at sea by the coast guard. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the eye of the "extremely dangerous" hurricane made landfall just ... read more