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At least 15 confirmed dead as the scope of Hurricane Ian’s devastation comes into focus

Most of the deaths have been in Charlotte County, an area near the stretch of Florida’s southwest coast where Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon.

Ian, which hit Florida’s southwest coast as a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday, strengthened back into a hurricane after being downgraded to a tropical storm as it barreled toward South Carolina’s coast. The hurricane is expected to make landfall in the state later Friday.

Just under 2 million customers remained without power across Florida, while many communities have had to contend with widespread flooding, destroyed homes and devastation.

President Joe Biden warned that Ian could ultimately be responsible for “substantial loss of life” and could end up being the deadliest storm in the state’s history.