Voice of America
03 Oct 2022, 16:35 GMT+10
Hurricane Ian is no longer pounding Florida, but the aftermath of its power will be felt for some time.
By Sunday night, more than 1,600 people had been rescued statewide and dozens of people were reported dead. Emergency workers are going door-to-door looking for survivors and bodies.
Most of the deaths have been recorded in Lee County, which was not in the storm's path in the first forecasts for the storm's trajectory. Eventually, Ian blew northeastward across Florida to the Atlantic Ocean side of the state and then veered northward and gathered new strength over the warm ocean water and made U.S. landfall a second time in South Carolina. Ian's remnants were felt in Virginia also, causing the town of Chincoteague to declare a state of emergency Sunday.
US Ian Storm Death Toll Hits 85
Florida Governor Rod DeSantis said Sunday that 42,000 linemen have been deployed in response to the more than 840,000 power outages. He said the linemen have already restored power to more than 1.8 million accounts across the state.
Also Sunday, Casey DeSantis, the governor's wife, announced the Florida Disaster Fund had raised more than $21 million in 48 hours. The fund, the governor's office said, is "the State of Florida's official private fund established to provide financial assistance to our communities as they respond to and recover from times of emergency or disaster."
"This storm was really dangerous,' Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Fox News Sunday. She said one lesson from the storm is that Americans "need to understand what their risk is" where they choose to live, and that "flood insurance is your best bet" in protecting a family's assets.
Biden to Visit Puerto Rico Amid Hurricane Recovery Efforts
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Florida Wednesday, after their Monday trip to Puerto Rico, damaged last month by Hurricane Fiona.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
Get a daily dose of Knoxville Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Knoxville Times.
More InformationFRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...