Catastrophic destruction, more than 2.6 million inhabitants without electricity and at least 15 dead, that is the first balance of the passage of Hurricane Ian through Florida, although there are many people trapped and the risk is that the situation will be even more dramatic.
“It could be the deadliest hurricane in the history of Florida, we hear news of substantial loss of life,” warned US President Joe Biden, speaking from the headquarters of FEMA (civil protection of the United States).
“In times like these, the United States comes together and will come together as one team,” he added.
After hitting Cuba, Ian landed on Cayo Costa, near Fort Meyers, as one of the most violent hurricanes that has hit the United States, with winds of 240 km per hour.
On the night between Wednesday and Thursday it lost strength and was downgraded to a tropical storm, but according to the National Hurricane Center it should regain strength and return to a hurricane before making landfall for the second time.
The Governors of Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina already declared the state of emergency.
the first victim confirmed in Florida was registered in the volusia countyon the east coast: according to the authorities it is a 72-year-old man “who went out to empty his pool during the storm.”
But by night, the dead had already risen to 15, and unfortunately the number of victims is bound to rise, while more than 500 people were rescued in Charlotte and Lee counties.
Meanwhile, they continue quests to find twenty passengers on a migrant boat that was shipwrecked on Wednesday near the Cayos archipelago, slightly away from the hurricane’s path.
“We’ve never seen flooding like this,” DeSantis said.
“Some areas like Cape Coral, the city of Fort Myers, have been devastated,” he continued, calling the damage “historic.”
Sections of at least two bridges on the southwest coast, the Sanibel Causeway and the Pine Island Bridge, which connect the mainland to two islands near Fort Myers, have been destroyed and will require “structural reconstruction,” DeSantis said, according to ANSA.
The Republican governor spoke by phone with Biden to discuss the steps the administration is taking to support Florida in response to the hurricane, and the The president announced that he will send FeMA director Deanne Criswell to the site tomorrow to assess the damage.
Biden will also go to the state, he assured, when conditions allow it. In addition, it declared Florida a state of natural disaster and appropriated federal funds to help the hardest-hit counties: aid includes grants for temporary housing and home renovations, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property, and other programs to help businessmen. recover from the effects of the disaster.
I’m delivering remarks following a briefing on impacts from Hurricane Ian and ongoing Federal response efforts. https://t.co/eDUV0N39W8
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 29, 2022
