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Ian blamed for dozens of deaths as rescue, recovery efforts continue

Tropical Weather Florida
Posted at 4:14 AM, Oct 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-10-01 19:12:48-04

Hurricane Ian killed at least two dozen people across Florida, officials stated on Saturday.

Most of the deaths were reported in Lee County, where the hurricane made landfall on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm.

For those who survived, access to water and power is still a real concern.

Just over 1 million people in Florida are still without power, according to poweroutage.us. That's down from 1.3 million earlier in the day.

People in Lee County are relying on the eight distribution sites for water. More locations are expected to open up in the coming days.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said restoring water to the area is a top priority.

Gas outages remain a significant issue for Florida residents.

GasBuddy reported that nearly half of Fort Myers area gas stations are without fuel. One in three stations in the Tampa area are out of gas, GasBuddy reported.

For stations that are open, lines extend for blocks in Southwest Florida.

Gas lines in Venice, Florida

President Joe Biden added four Florida counties as major disaster areas, bringing the total number to 13. Residents in those counties can access grants from the federal government for expenses not covered by insurance.

Hurricane Ian became a post-tropical storm Friday evening, hours after striking the South Carolina coast. North Carolina reported four storm-related deaths on Saturday.

What’s left of Ian is bringing gusty winds and showers to the central Appalachians.