With hundreds of deaths anticipated, Biden supports a huge disaster designation for Florida.
Although officials are still evaluating the hurricane Ian’s damage, one county sheriff is concerned about the number of deaths.
In a segment on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Lee Area Sheriff Carmine Marceno believed that his county had hundreds of deaths.
Republican Marceno stated, “I don’t have verifiable statistics. I know the dead are in the hundreds. There are thousands of people who are waiting to be evacuated.” In his county, Fort Myers is located.
It will be some days before we know the precise amount. As they conduct rescue operations and individually check each property after storms in the past, authorities have overstated the number of fatalities.
Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told CNN that she has not yet received any verified reports of deaths.
I realize that certain sheriffs are stating that they anticipate a high number of deaths, but we still need to send out our search and rescue teams because of this, she added. We are trying to save as many lives as we can.
During a news conference in Tallahassee on Thursday morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed Criswell’s remarks and said it would take a day or more to confirm fatalities.
He responded to the sheriff’s remarks of deaths by saying, “None of it is verified.” “I believe that is what happened because there were 911 calls from individuals who said, ‘Hey, the water is rising in my house. I’m going to go up in the attic, but I’m extremely scared.’ Of course, those people are now going to be checked on.”
DeSantis said that two fatalities have been recorded so far, while authorities were still determining if they were due to the hurricane.
More than 2.5 million people in the storm’s path were warned to leave their homes by state and municipal authorities, but some individuals choose to remain. Others were unable to go due to expense, sickness, or a lack of transportation.
DeSantis’ request for a major disaster designation was granted by President Joe Biden on Thursday morning. In addition to other recovery initiatives, the designation would assist those impacted by the disaster by paying for temporary lodging and house repairs.
Democrats in the Florida congressional delegation supported DeSantis’ proposal. Under their conversation on Thursday morning, DeSantis said he would push for additional counties to be declared in an emergency since the storm was still moving and creating damage.
He warned that Orlando and Central Florida will see severe floods.
To be able to rebuild and bounce back, DeSantis predicted that years of work would be needed.
According to a readout from the White House regarding the call between Biden and DeSantis, Criswell will be traveling to Florida on Friday.