Frustration and desperation mount as Ian’s effects linger
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Days after the skies cleared and the winds died down in Florida, Hurricane Ian’s effects persisted Monday, as people faced another week without power and others were being rescued from homes inundated with lingering floodwaters.
Ten additional deaths were blamed on the storm in Florida as frustration and desperation mounted in the path the storm cut through state. And the hurricane’s remnants, now a nor’easter, weren’t done with the U.S.
The mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts were getting flooding rains. The storm’s onshore winds piled even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay.
Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared states of emergency, although a shift in wind direction prevented potentially catastrophic levels Monday, said Cody Poche, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia
Coastal flooding temporarily shut down the only highway to part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and flooding was possible all the way to Long Island, the National Weather Service said.
At least 78 people have been confirmed dead: 71 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba since Ian made landfall on the Caribbean island on Sept. 27 and in Florida a day later.
Search and rescue efforts were still ongoing Monday in Florida. More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, according to Florida’s emergency management agency.
Washed-out bridges to barrier islands, flooded roadways, spotty cellphone service and a lack of water, electricity or the internet left hundreds of thousands isolated. The situation in many areas wasn’t expected to improve for several days because waterways were overflowing, leaving the rain that fell with nowhere to go.
In DeSoto County, northeast of Fort Myers, the Peace River and tributaries reached record high levels and boats were the only way to get supplies to many of the county’s 37,000 residents.
The county was prepared for strong winds after being hit by Hurricane Charley in 2004, but it was not prepared for so much rainfall, which amounted to a year’s worth of precipitation in two days, DeSoto County Commissioner J.C. Deriso said.
“This flood has been pretty catastrophic,” said Deriso, adding that officials hope to open one of the area’s main highways by Tuesday.
Ian washed away bridges and roads to several barrier islands. About 130 Florida Department of Transportation trucks started work on building a temporary bridge to Pine Island and by the end of the week should be finished on a structure drivers can carefully traverse at slow speeds, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Monday afternoon.
The governor said a similar temporary bridge is planned for nearby Sanibel, but it will take a little more time.
“They were talking about running ferries and stuff,” DeSantis said. “And honestly, you may be able to do that, but I think this is an easier thing, and I think people need their vehicles anyways.”