Most of the deaths in Hurricane Ian were from drowning, according to official accounts of fatalities from a storm that has killed at least 70 people, according to authorities.
Officially, 25 deaths have been tied to Hurricane Ian, according to reports from medical examiner offices, but authorities are reporting far more deaths in hard-hit areas.
Combining tallies from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission with other deaths reported by sheriff offices on Saturday, Hurricane Ian has killed 71 people in Florida.
Fatality numbers are likely to rise in the coming days. Rescue teams also haven’t been able to reach all areas hit by Ian, with an unknown number of people still missing from the storm.
On Saturday, Lee County’s sheriff announced 35 deaths from Hurricane Ian in that hard-hit jurisdiction alone, nearly triple the official count for Lee released the same day by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.
“It is with a heavy heart that I say that number,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in aFacebook video post.
Lee County accounts for half of the Ian deaths in tallies from medical examiner offices across Florida. Those reports show floodwaters were the greatest danger from the storm. Of the 25 official fatalities in those reports, all but five listed drowning as a cause of death.
Those official death reports included an 87-year-old man founded on Friday in a submerged car in Lee County. He also suffered injuries from impact. On Friday, a 61-year-old man was found draped over a bench in Lee as well, with drowning the cause of death.
In Sarasota County, a 62-year-old woman was found dead Friday after being trapped in a car, with drowning listed as the cause of death. (Source)
