At least 72 people in Florida have died as a result of Hurricane Ian, according to local authorities.
Four people were also killed in the storm in North Carolina, the governor’s office said.
The Category 4 storm slammed into Florida’s southwest coast Wednesday afternoon, causing catastrophic damage, high winds and dangerous, record-breaking storm surges.
The deaths occurred in several Florida counties, including 35 in Lee County, 23 in Charlotte County, five in Volusia County, three each in Collier and Sarasota counties and one each in Lake, Hendry and Manatee counties, ABC News found. information from the Florida Board of Medical Examiners and requests from local officials and authorities.
The death toll from the catastrophic storm is rising amid search and rescue efforts.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marcena said Saturday that more than 700 people had been rescued in the devastated county, although they reported 35 deaths so far from the storm.
“It’s heartbreaking to say that number,” Marcena, whose district includes hard-hit Fort Myers and the barrier island of Sanibel, said in a video posted to Facebook.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Friday night that there are 10 confirmed deaths attributed to Yan. The causes of death were primarily drowning, as well as two accidents and an accident on the roof. The count, confirmed by the Medical Examiner’s Commission, does not include deaths in hard-hit Lee or Charlotte counties.
It’s unclear whether the state’s figure matches the ABC News analysis.
The state confirms the death by reviewing the medical examiner’s records, which can take some time.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed the deaths in Lake, Sarasota, Manatee, Volusia and Collier counties between Sept. 27 and Sept. 30. The age of the victims varied from 22 to 91 years. One of them, a 68-year-old woman, drowned after being swept into the ocean by a wave on September 29, according to the department.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was one of the first to publicly announce Ian’s death. A 72-year-old Delton man died after trying to drain his swimming pool during the storm, officials said Thursday.
The man, who has not been publicly identified, “disappeared” after stepping outside, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies found him unresponsive in a ditch behind the home and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
The storm made landfall again Friday in South Carolina, which has not reported a death from the storm so far, Gov. Henry McMaster said Saturday.
Although neighboring North Carolina reported four deaths related to the storm, Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement Saturday. Three car accidents occurred on Friday, with victims between the ages of 22 and 25. Also, a 65-year-old man died Saturday of carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator in his locked garage during a power outage.
Emergency response was largely halted Wednesday as the storm slammed into Florida with high winds and heavy rain. Search and rescue efforts were underway across the state on Thursday.
Florida Rep. Cathy Castor, who represents the Tampa Bay area, called the situation a “major disaster.”
“I’m afraid we’re going to be dealing with a greater loss of life than we anticipated,” she said on “ABC News Live” Thursday.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott told “Good Morning America” Thursday morning that “thousands of rescue efforts are underway.”
“We have great sheriff’s departments, police departments, fire departments, state rescue squads. They work hard. But there are a lot of people who need help right now,” he said.
He expressed concern about the state’s many low-lying areas.
“The water kills, and I’m just — I’m scared to death of what happened here, and I hope everybody stays safe,” he said.
President Joe Biden spoke with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday morning, telling DeSantis that FEMA Administrator Dino Criswell will travel to Florida on Friday to review the response.
Sheriff Marcheno told “Good Morning America” on Thursday that they have had thousands of 911 calls that they are currently responding to.
“We still can’t get access to a lot of people who are in need,” Marcheno said. “There’s a real, real hard road ahead.”
ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Ahmad Hemingway, Benjamin Stein and Will Gretzky contributed to this report.
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