#ExtraordinaryWeather #FloridaPeachy Florida faces grim reality: Hurricane Ian is deadliest storm in state since 1935
The hardest-hit areas have been described as resembling “a war zone” and Ian’s death toll has climbed above 100 as rescue crews go door-to-door to search for survivors and help in recovery.
Nearly a week after Hurricane Ian obliterated communities in Florida, the death toll continues to rise as rescue crews go door-to-door in some of the hardest-hit communities. While hundreds of thousands remained without power on Tuesday and roadways were still flooded, construction on a makeshift bridge broke ground to help those stranded on Pine Island, one of several barrier islands that suffered the full force of Ian’s wrath.
The death toll surpassed a grim milestone on Monday, with at least 105 confirmed U.S. fatalities blamed on Ian, CNN Newsource reported. At least 101 of those deaths occurred in Florida, as well as four in North Carolina, according to the governor there. In Florida, Lee County was the largest source of the casualties, with 54 deaths reported by county officials. The Associated Press also reported three fatalities in Cuba, where Ian struck before hitting the U.S.
One blue house on Fort Myers Beach seemed to stand with little damage while debris from nearby homes surrounded it.
Most of the deaths from the hurricane were a result of drowning, but some have been blamed on harsh consequences in the aftermath of the storm, such as an elderly couple who died after power to their oxygen machines shut off.
Brandon Clement
“Although the death toll from Ian is fluid and historical numbers are inexact, Ian is likely the deadliest tropical system for the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, which killed over 400 people,” AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor Jesse Ferrell said.
New photos and videos emerging from the epicenter of where Hurricane Ian made landfall show the sheer power the storm packed. Homes are barely recognizable on Captiva Island, a barrier island in Lee County right near where Ian made its first United States landfall as a Category 4 storm.
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