NORTH PORT, Fla. — After Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday in Florida, crews from across the state have been working to restore power and ensure the safety of the residents.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, North Port Emergency Manager Michael Ryan reported that 60 percent of power has been restored to residents while traffic lights are in the process of being fixed.
Along with getting power up and running again, Ryan said people are working on getting tarps into the city, along with increasing water pressure after the water system received damage.
There's a water boil notice in place until the water system is fully up to speed, according to Ryan.
"During this time, as we pressurize the system, there may be moments and periods of time where people may lose pressure or lose water altogether," he said. "Reason for this is as we discover leaks, we will need to shut down a portion of the system, go in, repair the leak then restore it. So, that's an ongoing process."
Following directly after Ian blew through the state, North Port saw historic water levels, with Ryan explaining there were areas flooded that were never seen like that before. But water levels reportedly have been coming down.
Ian is also the reason behind around 33,000 to 35,000 structures needing to be checked in the city.
With all of the relief and recovery efforts ongoing, there are ways residents are able to report damage as well.
Anyone interested can go to the city's website and download an app that allows them to take pictures of the damage to report. There is also a call center set up which can be reached by dialing 941-429-7000.
"We still know that we have a lot of work to do," North Port City Manager Jerome Fletcher said. "There's a lot of hardship out there in our community, we want you to know we are still evacuating people as necessary.
"Please reach out to us in any way you can to let us know what your needs are..."
Wanting to donate to Sarasota County's Hurricane Ian Recovery and Relief Fund? Click here to find more information.
Watch the full news conference down below.