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TheĀ death toll from Hurricane Ian in Florida rose to 54Ā on Saturday (October 1),Ā NBC NewsĀ reported. An additional four people were killed in North Carolina as Ian churned up the East Coast. There were no reports of fatalities in South Carolina.
Ian slammed into Florida as a monster Category 4 storm on Wednesday andĀ carved a path of destructionĀ across the state.
U.S. Coast Guard Commander Rear AdmiralĀ Brendan McPhersonĀ said thatĀ around 4,000 people have been rescued across FloridaĀ and that additional search and rescue operations are underway.
AfterĀ making landfall for a second time in South CarolinaĀ as a Category 1 storm on Friday, Ian quickly weakened and has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 25 mph. Ian continues to churn north and will bring flooding rains to southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia.
Ian knocked out power to around 160,000 people across North Carolina andĀ nearly 50,000 in Virginia, according toĀ USA Today.
Power has been mostly restored across South Carolina, though about 20,000 people still remained without power as of Saturday afternoon.
Ian is expected to produce an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall, with locally heavier amounts possible, across portions of the Central Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic,"Ā the National Hurricane Center said. "Limited flash, urban and small stream flooding is possible across the Central Appalachians and portions of the Mid-Atlantic this weekend."