Ian downgraded to tropical storm, Florida waking up to damage from hurricane

Speaking in a Thursday morning media briefing, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that first responders had descended on southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian.

Operations are ongoing, with 28 large helicopters between the National Guard and Coast Guard performing rescue missions, and more air assets brought in as the day continues.

DeSantis said his office had also been working with hospitals overnight that have been on generator power and were in the process of evacuating health care facilities to safer locations.

The governor noted that, in addition to the more than 2.5 million power outages reported in the state, more outages were anticipated in central and northeastern Florida.

“Lee and Charlotte are basically off the grid at this point,” he explained, adding that infrastructure would likely have to be rebuilt there and that damage to the counties was “extensive.”

DeSantis said that, after interruptions in communications, 100 portable cell towers were being deployed in southwest Florida.

Furthermore, 100 engineers were on site to do bridge inspections, and he noted that there were reports of structural damages to bridges like the Sanibel Causeway and Pine Island Bascule Bridge.

DeSantis warned that the amount of water that’s been rising and will continue to rise is “basically a 500-year flood event.”

The governor said he had spoken with President Biden earlier in the morning, and that additional major disaster declarations are expected for more Florida counties.

Water is anticipated to subside in barrier islands and on the coasts, but DeSantis told reporters that standing water is likely inland for the coming days.

“Those who are in need of life support right now: Help is on the way,” he said, pointing out that efforts were first focused in the hardest hit areas.

“The impacts of this storm are historic … But, I think we’ve never seen a flood event like this … And, it’s going to end up doing extensive damage to a lot of peoples’ homes,” DeSantis pointed out.

The governor said most school districts will be able to reopen on Friday or Monday.

Answering questions later in the news conference, DeSantis responded to a report of “hundreds” of fatalities in Lee County: “So, none of that is confirmed.”

He said that a number put out by Lee authorities was “basically an estimate” of people calling 911 and saying that water was rising in their homes.

“They may not have ended up getting through,” DeSantis said, telling the reporter that he hoped they could be rescued at this point.

He clarified that there were two unconfirmed fatalities and that they had not yet been confirmed to be related to the storm.

“I mean, our assumption is, it likely is,” DeSantis said.