The confirmed death toll of Hurricane Ian has risen to 77, with the majority concentrated in a Florida county that is facing criticism for delaying its evacuation warning.
Fort Myers, Florida’s epicenter of hurricane-related devastation, was the scene in Lee County. There were 35 people killed after officials in that county waited longer than others to issue evacuation instructions.
NBC News reports that all 77 recorded deaths have occurred in Florida.
Lee County did not issue a mandatory evacuation until Tuesday morning, just over 24 hours before the storm made landfall, with officials there telling the New York Times that they postponed the order due to earlier forecasts that showed the storm heading further north.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno confirmed the latest casualty report on Saturday, saying that search and rescue operations are still taking place throughout the county and the rest of the Sunshine state following Ian’s devastation.
Marceno stated that he has received between 600 and 700 people in desperate need of rescue. ‘During this difficult time, we’re at about 35 deaths, unfortunately. It’s with a heavy heart that I say that number.’
The sheriff added: ‘Last night I just sat there by myself thinking about the devastation, looking through pictures, and I’ll tell you it brought tears to my eyes. We’re going to do more and will be better than ever.
At least 35 deaths from Hurricane Ian, which has now reached 52 in death, occurred in Lee County. This is Fort Myers’ home and the epicenter of Florida’s destruction by the storm.
Due to delays of 24 hours, the emergency call went out late. The failure by the county to issue evacuation orders on time has led to intense criticism.
Pictured: Lee County resident Jonathan Strong jumps in flood waters with his girlfriend, to assist residents at a mobile home complex that had been flooded by the storm.
Officials stated that the county saw 600-700 rescue operations on Saturday.
This hurricane devastated the entire area and destroyed homes, as well as flooding entire towns.
Carmine Marceno from Lee County, (above), confirms the death toll caused by Hurricane Ian’s rampage in his County
Sheriff’s Office personnel have been on the road throughout the county, checking in with residents and helping out with rescue efforts.
Pictured: Lee County neighborhoods are completely submerged in storm surges when a fire breaks out within one of them
Sunday’s remnants from Ian were moving northward towards Virginia. On Saturday, they brought heavy rainfall with the potential for flash flooding at certain points along the Appalachians coast and Mid-Atlantic.
Additional deaths were reported from Charlotte, Volusia County, Sarasota Lake, Collier and Manatee Counties.
Florida reported most deaths from drowning. Others suffered from severe storm effects.
According to authorities, an elderly couple was killed when their oxygen machines stopped working after losing power.
A 68-year old woman was swept into the sea by a wave, and a man aged 67 fell into rising waters inside his house while waiting for rescue.
A 22-year old woman was killed in an ATV accident due to a road washout. A 71-yearold man also died from falling from a roof while installing rain shutters. The death toll in Cuba was three more earlier this week.
There were still scenes of hope amidst the devastation of Florida. More than 1000 people participated in search-and rescue operations throughout the state. Fort Myers Beach footage showed an injured man being pulled from the broken pieces of his destroyed house.
Rescuers searched for survivors in the wreckage of Florida’s flood-damaged homes on Saturday morning, as authorities in South Carolina evaluated the extent of the hurricane’s damage.
Out of 52 deaths reported by Hurricane Ian, 35 were located in Lee County in Florida.
Residents of Lee County were able to see the destruction to their homes following Hurricane Ian’s evacuation order.
Ft. MYERS FLORIDA: Jordan Reidy takes his dog Ivory back to Fort Myers on Friday. Reidy and his mother intend to stay in the house as they are unable to find anywhere else.
FLORIDA, NORTHPORT: Rescue teams evacuate people trapped in North Port after Hurricane Irma. Flash flooding caused by the hurricane in Central Florida has been a major problem as it passed through the state.
FLORIDA, North Port: Rescue teams in North Port helped a baby on Friday following Ian’s death.
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: A car drives through high water from the effects from Hurricane Ian in South Carolina
While the hurricane remnants pushed northward towards Virginia, they continued to bring heavy rains with them. This left many people without power.
On Wednesday, a Category 4 storm swept across Florida’s Gulf Coast. It caused widespread destruction to beach communities and made them into catastrophe areas.
Friday saw it batter waterfront Georgetown north of Charleston with gusts of 85 mph.
For most of the week, the powerful storm terrorized millions of people in western Cuba. It then swept across Florida, from the Gulf of Mexico to Atlantic Ocean. There it gathered enough strength for the final attack on South Carolina.
Ian is now weaker and will move through central North Carolina this Saturday, before reaching south-central Virginia on Sunday afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued a flash bulletin stating that widespread showers and thunderstorms were expected to persist throughout the weekend, from the central Appalachians through the Mid-Atlantic region and south-central New England.
The average rainfall total is expected to be between one and two inches. However, flash flooding was possible in West Virginia and along the Mid-Atlantic coast.
MYRTLE BEACH – Images taken in South Carolina depict the floods that occurred on Friday, as Ian launched its second strike.
MYRTLEBEACH: On Friday, Hurricane Ian damaged a shrimp vessel in South Carolina.
NORTH CHARLESTON – Waters from an overflowing pond and the footpath that winds around Quarterman Park after Hurricane Ian brought rain.
National Hurricane Center warns that storm effects will be felt for several days.
“Major to unprecedented river flooding is expected across central Florida next week.” The central Appalachians are subject to limited flash floods.
Florida’s distraught residents were forced to wade through water up to knee high Friday.
“I just want to cry in the corner.” Stevie Scuderi, after sifting through her Fort Myers apartment that was nearly destroyed, said, “I don’t know what to do.” The mud and dirt in her kitchen were still sticking to her purple sandals.
South Carolina’s Ian’s centre was found near Georgetown in South Carolina. This is a small settlement along the Winyah bay about 60 miles from historic Charleston.
Four piers, one connected to Myrtle Beach and two linked to it were damaged by the hurricane.
Friday’s storm winds were weaker than those that struck Florida’s Gulf Coast during Ian’s earlier week landfall. As shocked citizens tried to understand what had just happened, volunteers and authorities were still trying to assess the damage.
FORT MYERS BUSH: This is an image of part of a mobile home park that was destroyed by Hurricane Ian, which hit Fort Myers Beach in Florida.
SANIBEL ISLAND. The Sanibel Causeway, which was flooded by Hurricane Ian is visible Friday after it collapses in Sanibel.
FORT MYERS BAY: A Friday aerial photo shows the destruction of homes and businesses following Hurricane Ian. It was taken in Fort Myers Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
FORT MYERS: Frank Bruno speaks with members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team as they look for anyone needing help after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. Bruno stated that he rode out the storm in his house and assured the members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team that he was fine.
Anthony Rivera was 25, and he said that during the storm he had to climb through his window on the first floor to get his grandmother, girlfriend and other family members to the second. They raced to get out of the flooding water but a storm surge washed away a boat just next to their apartment.
He stated, “That’s why I think it’s so scary. It’s impossible to stop any boats.” “I am not Superman.”
New problems continued to surface even though Ian was long ago out of Florida. The massive water rise in the Myakka River caused a closure of 14 miles of Interstate 75 near Port Charlotte.
Ross Giarratana is a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service, Tampa. He said that the Myakka crested at an unprecedented 12.73 feet on Saturday morning.
Further to the southeast, the Peace River reached a flood stage on Saturday morning in Polk and Hardee counties. Giarratana stated that the majority of these points are still not at their highest point.
He said, “It was amazing to see how fast the rivers were rising.” “We were certain that we would be experiencing some records.”
Floridan power outages lasted into Saturday morning, while new ones occurred in Virginia and Carolina.
The Appalachians will be impacted by Ian, a post-tropical storm that moved across Virginia on Saturday.
The Sunday showers are expected to keep coming down in West Virginia, Mid-Atlantic and West Virginia on Sunday
Official death tolls rose throughout Friday with officials warning that they would rise even higher if crews did a thorough sweep of all the destruction.
Kevin Guthrie, Director of Florida Division of Emergency Management said that searches were directed at initial assessments and emergency rescues. As an example, Guthrie described a submerged house.
The water had reached the roof. However, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer swam down to it, and was able to identify that it was human remains. Guthrie explained that it was not known how many.
According to him, 10,000 were still unaccounted for. However, many of these people are likely to be in shelters, or without power.
Governor Ron DeSantis stated that older homes were not as well built and they ended up in the ocean.
“If you’re hunkering down and doing that, it’s very hard to survive.”
Hurricane Ian has likely caused ‘well over $100 billion’ in damage, including $63 billion in privately insured losses, according to the disaster modeling firm Karen Clark & Co., which regularly issues flash catastrophe estimates.
These numbers would prove Ian to be at least fourth most costly hurricane in American history.
Residents of Country Club Ridge, a subdivision in Sarasota, Florida, waded through the waterlogged streets on Friday. John Chihil solemnly pulled a small canoe along with another boat through the water to their ankles.
There’s not much to be felt. You know, it’s an act by God. He said. ‘I mean, that´s all you can do is pray and hope for a better day tomorrow.’