Hurricane Ian Southwest Florida compilation

Ian became a hurricane again Thursday evening after hammering Florida with heavy rains and powerful winds, leaving a rising death toll and thousands of residents desperately seeking rescue from the effects of one of the most devastating storms in U.S. history.

The large system, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm on its way out of Florida and into the Atlantic ocean, is expected to head toward the Carolinas and Georgia. Ian's sustained winds increased to 85 mph late Thursday and it could bring "life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds'' to those states, the National Hurricane Center said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the storm caused a "500-year flooding event" and said Coast Guard helicopters were plucking trapped residents from the roofs of homes. Communities across the state were or will be swamped by the overwhelming waters, he said.

"The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that has been done is historic," DeSantis said. "We've never seen a flood event like this, we've never seen a storm surge of this magnitude."

At least 14 people were reported dead in counties across the state, a number that's expected to rise substantially. Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. More than 1.9 million Florida homes and business were without power Thursday evening.

Hurricane Ian-related losses thus far range between $25 and $40 billion, the Fitch Ratings credit agency reported Thursday in an initial analysis of the damage.

Even after Ian had weakened to a tropical storm and headed out to the Atlantic early Thursday, its outer bands were still buffeting the state. The storm flooded entire communities, leaving residents stranded in their homes after making landfall Wednesday with 150-mph maximum sustained winds – just 7 mph shy of a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale.

Major to record flooding will continue across central Florida and considerable flooding is expected in portions of the Carolinas and southern Virginia through Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm previously tore into Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the entire country's electrical grid.

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