Florida hurricane death toll rises to 21 as South Carolina prepares for landfall
The death toll from Hurricane Ian has risen to 21 deaths – most yet to be confirmed by officials to be related to the storm, Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s emergency management department, said at a press conference.
Officials have confirmed one death in Polk county near Orlando, but the 20 other deaths still need to be confirmed. Guthrie explained that officials need time to determine whether the deaths were directly disaster-related. The 20 unconfirmed deaths were from Charlotte and Collier counties near Fort Myers, what officials are calling “ground zero” of the destruction.
Rescuers have completed their initial, quick search for living survivors and are starting more detailed search efforts that will likely see the death toll rising, Guthrie said.
Meanwhile, South Carolina is hunkering down as Hurricane Ian heads toward land once again. The Charleston airport closed its runways this morning in anticipation of the storm making landfall later today. The forecast says Ian will likely touch down on the state in the afternoon.
Key events
Disney World is back open after being closed Wednesday and Thursday as Hurricane Ian passed through Orlando. Guests had been instructed to hunker down in hotel rooms until the storm passed. Universal Studios also said that it will reopen today.
Videos of Disney World this morning show the theme park seemingly operating as normal under a blue sky. One Twitter user posted a canopy that appeared to be broken by the storm.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal Studios began calling employees back into work Thursday night to prepare for Friday’s reopening.
Florida hurricane death toll rises to 21 as South Carolina prepares for landfall
The death toll from Hurricane Ian has risen to 21 deaths – most yet to be confirmed by officials to be related to the storm, Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s emergency management department, said at a press conference.
Officials have confirmed one death in Polk county near Orlando, but the 20 other deaths still need to be confirmed. Guthrie explained that officials need time to determine whether the deaths were directly disaster-related. The 20 unconfirmed deaths were from Charlotte and Collier counties near Fort Myers, what officials are calling “ground zero” of the destruction.
Rescuers have completed their initial, quick search for living survivors and are starting more detailed search efforts that will likely see the death toll rising, Guthrie said.
Meanwhile, South Carolina is hunkering down as Hurricane Ian heads toward land once again. The Charleston airport closed its runways this morning in anticipation of the storm making landfall later today. The forecast says Ian will likely touch down on the state in the afternoon.
Florida county without water after water main break
Lee county, which covers Fort Myers in south-west Florida, does not have running water after a water main break at its utility, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference. The county is home to over 750,000 residents.
DeSantis said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Army Corp of Engineers are in the county assessing the situation. It is unclear when water will return to residents, though DeSantis called it a “top priority”.
Lee County has had a water main break at the county water utility. “That means that the county does not have water at this point,” said @GovRonDeSantis at AM news conference. @KevinGuthrieFl requested support from @fema , and Army Corps of Engineers are working to restore water.
— Mary Ellen Klas (@MaryEllenKlas) September 30, 2022
Thousands of people are trapped in flooded homes in Florida after Hurricane Ian left severe damage in the state. Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday said that least 700 rescues have been conducted so far, mostly by air.
Sheriffs in the south-western part of the state, which was in the direct path of the storm, told the Associated Press that they were receiving thousands of calls from those stranded in their homes.
Before the storm hit, the state asked residents who sheltered in place to fill out a survey, allowing officials to have demographic information should areas become hard for rescuers to access. The state yesterday said they had over 15,000 responses from residents who sheltered in place during the storm.
In its 8am update on Hurricane Ian, the National Weather Service said Ian will probably not strengthen much as it approaches South Carolina. The storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 85mph (140km/h). The storm is forecast to reach the South Carolina coast today (Friday), and then move north-east toward central North Carolina Friday night and Saturday morning.
Some South Carolina residents are starting to feel the storm’s effects. Nearly 10,000 are without power as the storm approaches. Hurricane warnings are in effect along the coast of the entire state.
Hurricane Ian approaches South Carolina
Tropical Storm Ian, which battered Florida as a hurricane on Wednesday, is gaining new strength as it approaches South Carolina today.
Forecasts say landfall could take place this afternoon. The entire coast of South Carolina is under a hurricane warning. Once it makes landfall, Ian is expected to weaken back to a tropical storm as it makes its way across the southeastern US. The hurricane will be the first to directly hit South Carolina since Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
Meanwhile, Florida is still assessing the mass of damages from Ian, mostly from flooding that the hurricane left in its wake. At least a dozen deaths have been reported, though officials across the states are still working to calculate the death toll. Yesterday, Joe Biden said the hurricane could prove the deadliest in Florida’s history. Over 2m people who were in the hurricane’s path are still without power.
We’re going to be tracking Tropical Storm Ian as it re-approaches land and providing updates on what Ian left behind in Florida. Stay tuned.
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