Nearly 100 people were reported dead in the United States five days after Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s west coast as a powerful Category 4 storm. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced Monday that 54 fatalities have now been confirmed in that county, bringing the total death toll in Florida at least 94.
Four storm-related deaths have already been reported in North Carolina, bringing the US toll to at least 98.
The CBS News figure is higher than the official state tally because in some cases county officials are confirming deaths faster than state officials.
Before hitting Florida, the storm killed at least three people in Cuba, where it power cut across the island.
Days after Ian carved out a path of destruction from Florida to the Carolinas, the dangers persisted and even worsened in some places. It was clear that the road to recovery from this monstrous storm would be long and painful.
And Ian still wasn’t finished. The storm showered Virginia with rain on Sunday, and officials warned major flooding was possible along its coast on Monday.
Ian’s remnants moved offshore and formed a northeast that was expected to pile even more water into an already flooded Chesapeake Bay and threatened to cause the region’s largest tidal flood event. from Hampton Roads in Virginia for the past 10 to 15 years, said National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Poche. Norfolk and Virginia Beach have declared states of emergency.
Other parts of the Atlantic coast may experience higher than usual tides. The island town of Chincoteague in Virginia declared a state of emergency on Sunday and urged residents in certain areas to evacuate. The east coast and the northern part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina were also likely to be affected.
With the death toll rising, Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the federal government stands ready to help in a big way, focusing first on victims in Florida, who bore the brunt of one of the strongest storms to make landfall. in the USA. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden plan to visit the state on Wednesday.
Flooded roads and washed away bridges to barrier islands have left many people isolated amid limited cell phone service and a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity and internet. Officials have warned that the situation in many areas is not expected to improve for several days as rivers overflow, leaving falling rain with nowhere to go.
About 600,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without power Monday morning, down from a peak of 2.6 million.
The current goal is to restore power by Sunday to customers whose power lines and other electrical infrastructure are still intact, Florida Emergency Management Division Director Kevin Guthrie said Monday. It does not include houses or areas where infrastructure needs to be rebuilt.
More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, according to the Florida Emergency Management Agency.
Rescue missions were underway, particularly on barrier islands near Fort Myers in southwest Florida, which were cut off from the mainland when storm surges destroyed causeways and bridges.
The state will build a temporary traffic crossing for the largest, Pine Island, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Sunday, adding that an allocation has been approved for the Department of Transportation to build it this week.
“It won’t be a full bridge, you’ll probably have to cross it at 5 miles per hour or something, but it will at least allow people to get in and out of the island with their vehicles,” he said. said the governor. said at a press conference.
In Virginia, the US Navy has postponed the first-ever deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, according to a statement from the Navy’s 2nd Fleet. The carrier and other US ships were scheduled to leave Norfolk on Monday for training exercises in the Atlantic Ocean with ships from other NATO nations.
Coastguard, municipal and private crews have used helicopters, boats and even jet skis to evacuate people over the past few days.
In rural Seminole County, north of Orlando, residents donned waders, boots and insect repellent to paddle to their flooded homes on Sunday.
Ben Bertat found 4 inches of water in his home near Lake Harney after kayaking there.
“I think it’s going to get worse because all that water has to get to the lake,” Bertat said, pointing to water flooding a nearby road. “With the ground saturated, this whole swamp is full and it just can’t take any more water. It doesn’t look like it’s going down.”