September 29, 2022 Hurricane Ian updates

President Joe Biden spoke Thursday about the havoc that Hurricane Ian wrecked in Florida after it made landfall on Wednesday.

Biden said he spoke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, mayors and the commissioner, who, he said, are worried, but the President commended them for the "incredible" jobs they're doing to "save their cities, their towns" and their infrastructure.

Biden also issued a message for Floridians.

"My message to people in Florida, at times like this: America comes together. We’re going to pull together as one team, as one America," he said.

President Biden is delivering remarks as Florida is reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Devastation in some parts is impeding the restoration and recovery work.

Water engulfs entire neighborhoods in Cape Coral after Hurricane Ian pummeled Florida's southwestern coast on Wednesday into Thursday, CNN Air drone video shows.

Emergency teams also conducted rescues.

Watch it here:

Two bridges in the city of Sarasota, Florida, have opened to the barrier islands, according to the city's social media.

The city noted that water and sewer service have not been restored and residents should plan accordingly.

Residents in mainland Sarasota are now allowed to return to their homes after the devastation of Hurricane Ian, the city posted in another Facebook.

Sarasota Police posted a photo showing a long lines of cars waiting to get to the islands. 

The county said they are using a Red/Yellow/Green level system to inform residents about the conditions across the area. Red areas are “unsafe” and have suffered “extensive damage limiting travel.” Yellow areas do not have power and have damage and debris. Green areas are considered safe for the general public. 

The map shows Sarasota County split with the north half in yellow and the south half in red. No area of the county is currently green.

View the map here:

Cuban officials on Thursday raised the number of dead from Hurricane Ian to three people, the state-run website Cubadebate reported.

Previously, Cuban officials had said two people died during the storm as it made landfall in Cuba. 

There was no further information provided on how the third victim died. 

Although Cuban officials said they had begun to restore power knocked out in Cuba by Ian, large swathes of the island remained without electricity.

As Fort Myers reels in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, huge chunks of sea wall and other debris can be seen on the streets after the flooding subsided from the downtown area.

"We are a few blocks off the water. So that's how far this traveled ... in the water. And you can imagine the force that it would have taken for this kind of piece of stone to move," CNN correspondent Randi Kaye said as she came across several chunks of the sea wall that were waist-high and sometimes, even bigger.

Take a look at the devastation in downtown Fort Myers:

Recording flooding is already happening in central and northern Florida due to Hurricane Ian as torrential rainfall swells area rivers, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The flood waters are expected to rise further, as well as stretch well beyond the state’s borders in the coming days.

Currently there are 15 river gauge locations in Florida at or above flood stage, nine of those are at major flood stage, and three have reached all-time records. 

For most of these locations it will take at least 3 to 5 days before water levels return below major flood stage, and one week before they return to "normal levels". 

Nearly 50 locations along dozens of rivers spanning 8 states are expected to reach flood stage, according to CNN analyses of NOAA and USGS flood forecasts.

As Ian moves up the East Coast widespread rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches are expected from Savannah, Georgia to Ocean City, Maryland, with isolated higher amounts of 6 to 8 inches possible.

At least 2,617,257 Florida energy customers are still without power, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us.

In Hardee County, nearly 100% of customers are without power.

In Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral, and Charlotte County, home to Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, about 89% of all customers are in the dark.

In DeSoto County, which includes the city of Hernando, about 92% of customers lost power.

High floodwaters can be seen surrounding homes in US Coast Guard photos from a flight over Sanibel Island, which is located southwest of Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

Portions of the Sanibel Causeway, which connects the island to the mainland, have been washed away, according to aerial video from CNN affiliates.