More Deaths Reported From Hurricane Ian (Live Updates)

In an update with
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday morning, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie announced more fatalities from Hurricane Ian.

He told reporters that there was one confirmed death reported in Polk County.

In the hard-hit Charlotte County, 12 reported fatalities were unconfirmed.

In Collier County, there were eight unconfirmed deaths.

Guthrie noted that the state was still processing a couple of other “situations,” including one where human remains had been found.

He also warned about carbon monoxide issues, although noting he was not saying there had been carbon monoxide deaths.

The governor announced that more than $12 million in donations had been raised following Hurricane Ian’s devastation.

“Pretty, uh, pretty incredible that that’s happened,” he remarked, adding that donations help FEMA to “be a little bit more nimble.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said 13 counties in Florida have been designated for individual assistance as recovery and relief efforts are underway.

The number of customers reported without power on Friday morning dropped below the 2 million mark, although DeSantis noted that 99% of Hardy County was without power, as well as 85% of Charlotte and Lee Counties.

A water main break in Lee County, he said, left residents there without water.

The governor said that situation was a “top priority” and that the Army Corps of Engineers was working to assess that situation.

In addition, the DeSantis said that more than 10,000 residents – out of over 20,000 that have been contacted by the state – who had filled out a shelter in place survey on floridadisaster.org had responded as “safe.”

The state expects more responses on Friday and there is now a standalone website to let family members know you’re safe: missing.fl.gov.

As rescuers continue to work, DeSantis said that they had reached more than 3,000 homes in the most impacted areas, with over 1,000 rescue personnel located up and down the coastline.

The governor’s office later confirmed to Fox News that there had been at least 700 rescues.

FDOT had cleared over 1,100 miles of roadway and the governor said that traffic was flowing out of the area and was “better than anticipated so soon.”

800 bridges were inspected and reopened, but DeSantis noted that Sanibel Bridge would be a rebuild project.

The bridge had breaks in multiple parts.

Six health care facilities had been evacuated in southwest Florida after issues with water or power for an extended period of time.

DeSantis said that people have been working around the clock to be able to serve their constituents and communities.

“And, we appreciate the dedication. We appreciate the perseverance. We know that there’s a lot of difficult days ahead, but they’ve really done a great job of standing up for the people of their community,” he concluded.

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