Tropical storm Ian is expected to become a hurricane again later today in the US before making landfall for the second time, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
In the NHC’s latest advisory, a hurricane warning was issued for the entire coast of South Carolina.
Ian’s winds have picked up to 70mph and the storm is currently around 25 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral.
More: ‘Life threatening’ flood risk warning as Hurricane Ian batters Florida
Florida’s Gulf Coast is no longer under a warning but parts of the state can expect up to 20 inches of rain.
The Foreign Office said: “Hurricane Ian has caused extensive destruction and flooding across Western and Central Florida.
“Power is out for large swathes of the state and mobile phone and internet coverage is haphazard.
“US search and rescue teams from across the state are deployed across the worst affected areas to restore power, water, and mobile phone coverage.”
It warned that these teams had “a large area to cover” in the areas where the storm has already passed.
“Make yourself know to the rescue teams as and when they reach you,” it added.
Tui plans to reschedule flights cancelled this week because of Hurricane Ian as soon as Melbourne-Orlando reopens.
“We are in close contact with Melbourne-Orlando and we will be updating customers as soon as we receive any further information,” it said.
US president Joe Biden is sending Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell to Florida on Friday to “check in on response efforts and see where additional support is needed”.
Biden is expected to comment on the latest situation at the Fema agency’s headquarters on Thursday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state is experiencing “a 500-year flood event” and has warned of “historic” damage.
The death of a 74-year-old man was confirmed just after midday (US local time) today, local officials said.