At least 100 people have died due to Hurricane Ian in Florida, according to the preliminary official count. The tragic toll is rising as the search for survivors continues in the southern US state.
Local authorities have been showered with criticism for not insisting on the evacuation plan. Building rooftops are surrounded by flood waters along the Peace River in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Arcadia, Florida, on October 3, 2022.
Most of these deaths have been due to drowning or cardiac arrest, and the number is expected to increase in the coming hours and days, according to the authorities of this state during a press conference led by the director of the Emergency Management Division. of Florida, Kevin Guthrie.
President Biden has said it “could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history.”
Since last week, more than 6,000 people have been rescued across the state, especially in the Southwest, ground zero after Ian hit, and downtown, where many homes were flooded.
Joe Biden is expected to visit Florida on Wednesday after being in Puerto Rico on Monday.
His first visit to Puerto Rico as president lasted only three hours and was focused on inspecting the damage caused by the recent Hurricane Fiona and showing his “commitment” to the island, which he feels does not receive the necessary support from Washington or that this he comes late.
Biden promised an aid package valued at 60 million dollars and promised to support the island so that it is “better prepared” for future hurricanes.
In Florida, 95% of subscribers have already recovered electricity service, five days after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cayo Costa, in the southwest of the state, with winds of 240 km / h that caused catastrophic damage, he assured this Monday Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis said at a press conference in Cape Coral, in Lee County, one of the areas most affected by the hurricane, that only 5% of subscribers in the state remain without electricity.
The recovery of the service, however, is very uneven, since in some areas of the west coast about half of the population still remains without electricity, while other areas, such as the southeast, practically did not suffer the impact of the hurricane.
At least half of the deaths have been reported in Lee County, where Ian made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.
(With information from Euronews and BBC)