Hurricane Ian updates Monday: damage, death toll, recovery

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Days after skies cleared and winds died down in Florida, Hurricane JanThe aftermath continued on Monday, as people faced another week without power and others were rescued from homes flooded by floodwaters.

Frustration mounted as the storm’s path tore through Florida, and the remnants of the hurricane, now a nor’easter, have not cleared the U.S.

There were downpours on the mid-Atlantic and northeastern coasts. Forecasters said the storm’s onshore winds could pack even more water into the already flooded Chesapeake Bay and threaten to cause the most significant tidal flooding in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region in more than a decade.

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Norfolk and Virginia Beach have declared states of emergency as they watch how strong the tides will be on Monday. The National Weather Service said coastal flooding is possible from North Carolina’s Outer Banks to Long Island.

At least 68 people have been confirmed dead: 61 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba since Ian first made landfall on the Caribbean island on September 27 and in Florida a day later.

Search and rescue operations were still ongoing in Florida on Monday. More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, according to the Florida Emergency Management Agency.

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy told NBC’s “Today Show” that residents who evacuated are mostly being kept indoors because of the search, which is likely to continue for several more days.

Washed-out bridges to barrier islands, flooded roads, isolated mobile communications and no water, electricity or internet have left hundreds of thousands of people still isolated. The situation in many areas was not expected to improve for several days as reservoirs overflowed and the rain that fell had nowhere to go.

In DeSoto County, northeast of Fort Myers, the Peace River and its tributaries reached record highs.

Many residents of the rural county of about 37,000 people could only be reached by boat. Roads that remained above water were closed, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, which was assisting in the effort.

“We are now working to set up teams to help locate residents in distress and we are sending ATVs to help clear debris from impassable roads,” deputies wrote in a Facebook post.

In rural Seminole County, north of Orlando, residents donned waders, boots and bug spray to wade to their flooded homes Sunday.

Ben Bertha found 4 inches (10 centimeters) of water in his Lake Harney home after kayaking.

“I think it’s going to be worse because all that water has to go into the lake,” Bertat said, pointing to the water that flooded a nearby road. “With soil saturation, this whole marsh is full and it just can’t take any more water. It looks like it won’t get any lower.”

About 600,000 Florida homes and businesses were still without power Monday morning, down from a peak of 2.6 million. But that’s still about the same number of customers as all of Rhode Island.

The current goal is to restore power to customers whose power lines and other electrical infrastructure are still intact by Sunday, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Monday. It does not include houses or areas where infrastructure needs to be restored.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden plan to visit the state on Wednesday.

In Virginia, the U.S. Navy has delayed the first-ever deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, according to a statement from the U.S. Navy’s 2nd Fleet. The aircraft carrier and other US ships were due to leave Norfolk on Monday for exercises in the Atlantic Ocean with ships from other NATO countries.

Coast Guard, municipal and private crews have used helicopters, boats and even jet skis to evacuate people over the past few days.

After moving through Florida, Ian made landfall again in the US in South Carolina as a much weaker hurricane. Officials said Monday that crews were finishing removing sand from coastal roads and nearly all power had been restored.