The number of casualties as a result of Hurricane Ian has risen over the weekend in the aftermath of the massive Category 4 storm which pummeled the west coast of Florida.
The Sunshine State’s west coast is still in the recovery stages in the aftermath of the storm, which battered the coast before cutting across the state, only to make a second landfall on the South Carolina coast.
On Friday, officials said the death toll stood at least 21 for the state of Florida. According to USA Today, as of Monday, the total of confirmed deaths in Florida nearly tripled.
“At least 68 people have been confirmed dead following the storm: 61 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba,” the outlet reported.
When asked about the rising number of fatalities over the weekend, DeSantis said it is a “difficult” thing to deal with.
“This is a basically a Category 5 storm that also had flooding like we’ve never seen,” he said, emphasizing the “massive impact.”
“You know, unfortunately, you have destruction of homes. You have fatalities, and it’s a difficult thing to deal with for sure,” he said, assuring friends and family who have failed to get in contact with their loved ones in affected areas that they are bringing in satellite receivers “so people will be able to get online at these pods to be able to let people know that they’re ok.”
On Monday, more than 600,000 in Florida remained without power, although that is down significantly from the over 3 million reported last week:
“I’ve been able to meet with linemen from all across the country who are here in Florida helping out. … I think today they’ll pass over two million restorations for a storm that really they started full statewide power restoration efforts on Friday morning,” DeSantis said during a Sunday press conference in Arcadia, Florida.
“So Friday, Saturday, Sunday — three full days and you have done over two million,” he continued, expressing gratitude.
“Obviously, being without power for a little bit of time is still an inconvenience. Being without power for longer than that is … a real drag and we understand that, and I’m just glad that there’s a lot of resources working to get that done as quickly as possible,” he added.
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