The death toll in Florida rose to 47 amid recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian.
“It’s really unbelievable how much flooding we’re seeing,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference on Saturday.
The storm made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, but many areas across the state suffered extensive flooding and power outages due to Ian’s large size. More than 1.2 million Floridians were still without power on Saturday.
The governor’s office said police have made more than 1,110 rescues. The Florida National Guard and the Coast Guard are also landing helicopters on different islands in search and rescue operations.
Florida activated more than 5,000 members of its National Guard and had the help of up to 2,000 National Guard troops from other states.
With many areas facing connectivity and cellular service issues, DeSantis announced on Saturday that Starlink units, created by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, would be distributed to affected regions in order to improve communications.
Thirty units will be delivered to Lee and Charlotte counties, the hardest hit by Ian’s impact when it made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast near Fort Myers.
President Biden will visit Florida on Wednesday, the White House announced.
