At least 101 Florida residents have been reported dead as a result of Hurricane Ian. Thousands more have been left homeless, without power, or stranded.
Ian reached Category 4 on Sept. 28, the same day it made contact with the shores of Florida.
Of the 101 identified deaths, 54 were from Lee County, according to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. 24 were from Charlotte County, eight from Collier, five from Volusia, three from Sarasota, two from Manatee, and one each from Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough, Lake, and Polk, according to officials from each of those counties.
Four additional deaths related to Hurricane Ian have been reported in North Carolina.
As of the evening of Oct. 3, more than 491,000 establishments are still without power, according to PowerOutage.us. This includes a mix of both homes and businesses. The National Guard will be deploying power crews to the affected areas, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an Oct. 3 news conference. However, it could take as long as 30 days for power to be restored, according to Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais.
Many of the affected residents are also without clean water, with over 100 boil-water notices being instituted across Florida, according to the Florida Health Department’s website.
Residents from several of Florida’s barrier islands, including Sanibel Island and Pine Island, have been isolated due to bridge collapses.
“Food is being delivered to Pine Island. Now, is it enough to sustain them over a long period of time? I can’t say that yet, none of us can,” Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais told CNN on Oct. 3.
William Briscoe, Fire Chief of Sanibel Island, spoke to CNN about further dangers the stranded citizens must now survive. “There are a lot of places that are not livable. There are places off their foundation, and it’s very dangerous out there,” Briscoe said. “There are alligators running around, and there are snakes all over the place.”
Rescuers throughout the state have been assisting stranded island residents via boat and aircraft. Over 1,900 people have been rescued as of Oct. 3, DeSantis said.
“I think I told you the other day we had room for 40,000 people in our shelters, but only 4,000 showed up, which means that people made the conscious choice not to evacuate, and it is regretful and you know, no one feels worse than we do about all that.” Desjarlais said.
“When you are walking around the ruins, it’s an apocalyptic scene,” Fort Myers Beach City Councilman Bill Veach told CNN.
Veach was among those left homeless in the wake of Hurricane Ian, with his 90-year-old cottage home being reduced to a single standing wall. However, Veach was able to recall moments of hope, in spite of the destruction. “You see a friend that you weren’t sure was alive or dead and that brings you joy. A joy that is so much more than the loss of property,” Veach said.
