A survey carried out by CNN counts, this Monday (3), at least 104 deaths after the passage of Hurricane Ian. This includes about 100 deaths in Florida, with more than 50 reported in Lee County. At least 24 people have died in Charlotte County, according to Claudette Smith of the sheriff’s office.
Smith told CNN that the number is a mix of direct and indirect deaths as a result of Hurricane Ian.
In addition, four storm-related deaths were reported in North Carolina, according to a statement from Governor Roy Cooper’s office.
Homeless Florida residents are now struggling to rebuild their lives as rescuers try to find any signs of life remaining among the wreckage of Hurricane Ian. In some cases, emergency workers are juggling both unimaginable tasks.
“Some of these people on Pine Island have lost everything, but they are doing what they can,” said emergency physician Ben Abo, who was preparing to join first responders on a rescue mission on Sunday near the decimated towns of Sanibel. Island and Pine Island.
“It brings tears to my eyes to see how hard they are working.”
But as Hurricane Ian took the road from Sanibel Island to mainland Florida, “we’re in the helicopter and doing our grid search,” Abo said.
More than 1,100 people have been rescued from flooded parts of southwest and central Florida since Hurricane Ian passed through the state last week, Governor Ron DeSantis’s office said. More than 800 were rescued in Lee County alone, Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Sunday.
But as the search for survivors continues, rescuers also find more bodies.
Those lucky enough to survive face an arduous road to recovery. More than 689,000 homes, businesses and others in Florida were still not without power as of Sunday night, according to the website PowerOutage.us. Many are without drinking water at the taps, with more than 100 warnings to boil water in places around the state, according to Florida Department of Health data.
flood insurance
Hurricane Ian could be the costliest storm in Florida’s history, devastating communities on the west coast of the state to inland cities like Orlando.
Although Florida has more flood insurance policies than any other US state, only about 13% of homes have flood insurance and only 18% who live in counties had mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders before Hurricane Ian, according to with an analysis of Milliman actuarial company.
On Sunday, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (AFGE) said Americans don’t have to live in a flood zone to benefit from flood insurance.
“I think anyone who lives near water should certainly buy flood insurance because it’s their number one tool to help protect their family and home after the storm,” said AFGE Administrator Deanne Criswell.
“If you live near water or where it rains, it can certainly flood, and we saw that [com] several storms this year.”
She said AFGE is updating its flood zone maps. “While in certain areas we require flood insurance, everyone can purchase flood insurance,” Criswell said.
“It’s certainly your best defense to help protect your property after any of these storms.”
Parts of Florida are now ‘unrecognizable’
The hurricane hit southwestern coastal cities like Fort Myers and Naples the hardest, where some neighborhoods were completely destroyed.
“We are flying and operating in unrecognizable areas,” said US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson.
“There are no street signs. They don’t look like what they used to look like. Buildings that were once a reference in the community are no longer there”.
“Unfortunately, people have become complacent”
Local officials are facing criticism over whether mandatory evacuations in Lee County should have been issued sooner. Authorities there did not order evacuations until less than 24 hours before the storm hit the mainland, and a day after several neighboring counties issued their orders.
DeSantis defended the timing of Lee County’s evacuation orders, saying they were given just as the storm’s projected path shifted south, putting the area in the hurricane’s crosshairs.
“As soon as we saw the model [o furacão] moving to the northeast, we did exactly what we could to encourage people to evacuate,” Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane said Sunday.
“I’m just disappointed that so many people haven’t gone to shelters because they’re open.”
Ruane called the report on a possible delay in issuing a mandatory evacuation “inaccurate”. He said the county did what it was supposed to do, without providing any evidence that the report was inaccurate.
“I think the most important thing most people need to understand is that we have opened 15 shelters. During Hurricane Irma there were 60,000 people in our shelters. There are four thousand people in the shelters now,” Ruane said Sunday.
“Unfortunately, people have become complacent […] As far as I’m concerned, the shelters were open, they had the capacity, they had all day Tuesday, they had a good part of Wednesday while the storm was coming down – they had the capacity to [ir para um abrigo]”.
The U.S. Coast Guard made plans to evacuate people from Pine Island, Lee County, on Sunday, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
President Joe Biden continued to pledge federal support to Florida, saying Hurricane Ian “will likely rank among the worst […] of the country’s history”.
The president and first lady, Jill Biden, travel to Puerto Rico on Monday (3) to assess damage from Hurricane Fiona, then head to Florida on Wednesday (4).
“Houses are gone”
After Hurricane Ian ended its devastating path over Florida, residents tried to venture back to their damaged or destroyed homes and scoured the wreckage.
Residents of Sanibel and Captiva Islands were cut off from mainland Florida after parts of a walkway were destroyed by the storm, leaving boats and helicopters their only options for exit.
Civilian volunteers rushed to help residents of Sanibel, where some houses were destroyed.
Andy Boyle was on Sanibel Island when the hurricane hit. He said he lost his house and two cars but feels lucky to be alive.
“A lot of people have very expensive, well-built homes on Sanibel, and they felt that with their multi-million homes built like fortresses, they would be fine,” he said.
Boyle was weathering the storm at home when the ceiling in the dining room collapsed. “That’s when we started to get worried,” he said.
He described waving at National Guard planes the next day outside his home and seeing the scenes of devastation around the island.
“When you go to the eastern end of the island, there’s a lot of destruction. The houses around the lighthouse are gone. When you go to the west end of the island, the old restaurants up there, they’re all gone. The street that leads to Captiva is now a beach,” Boyle said.
In Naples, Hank DeWolf’s 1,800-pound boat dock was loaded all over a condo and is now in his neighbor’s backyard. And the water brought someone’s car into their own backyard. He doesn’t know who it belongs to or how to remove it.
Another neighbor, Joanne Fisher, told CNN who is dealing with some shock after the storm but is in clean and rescue mode. Your oven is full of mud and water is still running from the kitchen cupboards.
“I’m almost ready to cry right now talking to you,” Fisher said. “But it’s okay because we’re alive and we’re here. And that’s the most important thing.”
Residents were also evacuated from the Hidden River area of Sarasota County after a compromised levee threatened to flood homes, the sheriff’s office said Saturday.
“We need everything”
Further complicating the recovery is the lack of electricity and irregular communication in the impacted areas. It can take up to a week for power to be restored in storm-damaged counties, said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Florida Power & Light Company.
And some customers may not be able to reconnect the grid for “weeks or months” because some buildings with structural damage will need safety inspections.
In Cape Coral, southwest of Fort Myers, 98% of the city’s power structure has been “obliterated” and will need complete reconstruction, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Ryan Lamb told Jim Acosta of CNN .
About 65% of all power outages in Florida due to the storm were restored as of early Sunday, according to the website PowerOutage.us.
Florida is also working with the Starlink satellite to help restore communication in the state, according to DeSantis.
“They are positioning these Starlink satellites to provide good coverage in Southwest Florida and other affected areas,” said DeSantis.
Lee County first responders will be among those receiving the Starlink devices.
In Charlotte County, residents are “facing a tragedy” without homes, electricity or water supplies, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Claudette Smith said.
“We need everything. We need all hands on deck,” Smith told CNN on Friday (30). “The people who came to our aid were tremendously helpful, but we need everything.”
Hurricane Ian may have caused up to $47 billion in insured losses in Florida, according to an estimate by property analysis firm CoreLogic. That could make it the costliest storm in the state’s history.
Decks in South and North Carolina
After hitting Florida, Hurricane Ian made its second US landing near Georgetown, South Carolina, on Friday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane.
In North Carolina, the four storm-related deaths include a man who drowned when his truck entered a flooded swamp; two people who died in separate accidents; and a man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning after turning on a generator in a locked garage, according to Governor Roy Cooper’s office.
No deaths have been reported in South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster said Saturday.
The storm flooded homes and left vehicles submerged along the coast of South Carolina. Two piers – one at Pawleys Island and one at North Myrtle Beach – partially collapsed as strong winds pushed the water even higher.
Edgar Stephens, who runs the Cherry Grove Pier in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, stood a few feet away when a 100-foot section of the middle of the pier fell into the ocean.
Stephens said Cherry Grove Pier is a landmark for community members and tourists alike.
“We are a destination,” he said, “not just a fishing pier.”
*With input from Michelle Watson, Chris Isidore, Hannah Sarisohn, Chris Boyette, Andy Rose, Amanda Musa, Jamiel Lynch, Joe Sutton, Gregory Clary and Paradise Afshar of CNN.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
