The authorities of Florida, United States, confirmed this Friday that at least 23 people died as a result of Hurricane Ian, a figure that could still increase considerably.
US media show higher balances citing county officials, who report up to 45 deaths due to the passage of the storm.
The official figure of 23 deceased was published this Friday by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, which also reported that the victims are between 22 and 92 years old, and most of them showed signs of drowning.
The bodies were found floating in flooded streets and on the beach, as well as in some cases inside vehicles.
The hurricane quickly downgraded to a post-tropical system this Friday shortly after making landfall in South Carolina (USA).
According to the latest part of the American National Hurricane Center (NHC), Ian, however, continues to offer “dangerous storm surge, flash flooding and strong winds” for the Carolinas and western Virginia.
“Just because the storm is over, don’t think there’s no danger,” DeSantis said at a news conference in East St. Augustine, referring to the dangers of downed power lines and leaking gas.
The priority now is to reach all the people who are still isolated in flooded areas, with an eye on the uncertainty of what the death toll will be as a direct cause of the hurricane, which hit the peninsula with category 4.
Hundreds of people trapped in the southwestern Florida town of North Port in Sarasota were rescued in an operation that also included US National Guard units.
Some of the houses in the city can only be accessed through boats and launches, while the inhabitants who decided not to leave their homes try to drain, by their own means, the waters of the flood caused by the heavy rains that Ian brought with him. .
In addition, long queues have formed at petrol stations and supermarkets in the areas less affected by the floods, and there are still problems with the electricity supply in the region.
About 1.3 million Floridians remain without power after Hurricane Ian as of Saturday morning, a senior official with the Federal Emergency Management Administration said during a news conference.
(With information from agencies)