MIAMI — Florida officials have linked about 100 deaths spanning 10 counties to Hurricane Ian, with more than half in Lee County where storm surges as high as 10 feet razed homes and destroyed some of the only bridges that contact barrier island residents to the mainland.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno on Monday afternoon announced that the death toll has climbed to 54 — up from 42 reported a day earlier. The state has confirmed the causes of 12 Lee County deaths so far — all but one resulted from drowning.
“We haven’t seen devastation like this. We’re standing 60 yards away from a 100-foot boat that’s thrown into a vehicle and the mangroves like it’s nothing,” Marceno said at a Monday news conference. “As sheriffs, we like to press a button and we fix what’s wrong. Unfortunately I can’t do that. There’s nothing I can say in words to bring loved ones back.”
