Death toll from Hurricane Ian surpasses 100

On Monday, the death toll from Hurricane Ian rose to at least 101 in Florida. The storm hit South West Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving many dead and buildings destroyed. According to CNN, at least “54 have died in Lee County, 24 in Charlotte County, 8 in Collier County, 5 in Volusia County, 3 in Sarasota County, 2 in Manatee County and 1 each in Lake, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Polk counties.”

More than 1,600 people in Central and South West Florida were rescued from their homes, making sure no one is trapped under the rubble Ian left. Florida governor Ron Desantis announced that the National Guard will be “flying power crews to Sanibel and Pine islands to assess the damage and start working on restoring power.” More than 491,000 homes and buildings in Florida still do not have power or clean drinking water since the storm first hit on Wednesday last week. Many are in question as to why mandatory evacuation orders were not put in place, especially since the death toll numer is so high. Shawn Critser, a pastor in Fort Myers Beach, told CNN that many people comply with evacuation orders when they are told ahead of time, but Floridians received evacuation orders “the day before.”