At least 42 people are dead in Florida after a Category 4 hurricane pummeled the state on Thursday, reports CNN.
The devastation inflicted on Florida came into focus a day after Ian struck as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S. It flooded homes on both the state's coasts, cut off the only road access to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers.
Roger Desjarlais, manager of Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers, told CNN Friday that "It looked as though someone had just dropped from the sky, picked up hotels and buildings and took them away. So much so that in many places there wasn't even debris.
"We also know that not as many people evacuated from those islands as we had hoped for. We know there has to be many fatalities yet to be accounted for," he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that crews had gone door-to-door to over 3,000 homes in the hardest-hit areas.
"There's really been a Herculean effort," he said during a news conference in Tallahassee.
Among those killed were an 80-year-old woman and a 94-year-old man who relied on oxygen machines that stopped working amid power outages, as well as a 67-year-old man who was waiting to be rescued and fell into rising water inside his home, authorities said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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