Hurricane death toll climbs to 78; almost 550,000 Florida power customers still in the dark: Live Ian updates.

Water and electrical energy could possibly be restored by Sunday to all of the properties, companies, colleges and hospitals in Southwest Florida which can be structurally sound after the devastation of Hurricane Ian, authorities stated Monday. 

“We’ve laid out an excellent plan,” Florida Emergency Administration Director Kevin Guthrie stated.  

Virtually  550,000 properties and companies remained in the dead of night Monday night, 5 days after the storm tore by the state’s Gulf Coast.

Faculties in 13 counties remained closed, however all counties in Southwest Florida anticipated to be absolutely again by the top of the week, Training Commissioner Manny Diaz stated. Lee, DeSoto, Charlotte, Sarasota and Hardee counties have “essentially the most to cope with,” Diaz stated.

The loss of life toll from Ian climbed to a minimum of 78 individuals, in accordance with the Related Press: 71 confirmed fatalities in Florida, 4 in North Carolina and three in Cuba, the place Ian made its first landfall Tuesday. Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass stated Monday that there have been a minimum of 58 confirmed deaths within the state.

Over 1,900 individuals have been rescued in Florida statewide for the reason that storm struck the state, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated throughout a press convention Monday. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.

BEFORE AND AFTER:A look at Hurricane Ian’s damage in Florida

IAN, FIONA SHATTERED HOPES FOR A QUIET HURRICANE SEASON:What’s next?

AFTER HURRICANE IAN CAME THE FLOODS:These people rallied to rescue residents, horses, cows

Energy restored to 95% of Floridians, DeSantis says

Energy has been restored to over 2 million Florida residents, DeSantis stated Monday.

“Proper now, statewide, 95% of shoppers have energy,” the governor stated at a press convention Monday. “We’re all the way down to solely 5% of shoppers with out.”

About 550,000 properties and companies in Florida have been nonetheless with out electrical energy on Monday morning, down from a peak of two.6 million.

The worst outages proceed to have an effect on southwest Florida, DeSantis stated, the place Hurricane Ian made landfall final week.

58% of Charlotte County residents don’t have energy, in accordance with the governor, together with 55% of Lee County residents.

Elon Musk offers satellite tv for pc web service for residents impacted by Ian

Florida is within the technique of deploying 375 satellite tv for pc units offered by Elon Musk to revive web in areas hit by Hurricane Ian, DeSantis stated Monday.

The web know-how, called Starlink, is a broadband web service, specializing within the growth of protection to rural and distant communities by launching a “constellation” of satellites into low Earth orbit through SpaceX rockets.

DeSantis stated the satellites allowed him to carry press conferences in rural areas of Florida with out problem.

“Because of your modern know-how, Floridians will have the ability to higher join with their family members,” he wrote on Twitter.

Virginia faces historic flooding

5 days after Hurricane Ian’s first U.S. landfall in Florida, the unrelenting storm threatened Monday to set off a number of the worst flooding in additional than a decade – virtually 1,000 miles away in Virginia.

After blasting by Florida after which pounding the Carolinas, the weakened however still-dangerous storm doused Virginia with rain Monday, and officers warned of probably extreme flooding by Tuesday. The remnants of the once-Class Four hurricane moved offshore and was merging with a low-pressure system to type a nor’easter anticipated to drive extra water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay. 

Cody Poche, a Nationwide Climate Service meteorologist, stated the consequence could possibly be essentially the most vital tidal flooding in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area within the final 10 to 15 years.

Norfolk and Virginia Seaside declared states of emergency, and Virginia Seaside warned residents to “make obligatory preparations now ought to evacuation change into obligatory.” The island city of Chincoteague issued a voluntary evacuation order for its 3,000 residents and was opening a shelter at an area highschool.

Southwest Florida sees rise in crime after Ian

Looting and scams are rising issues throughout Southwest Florida, authorities stated Monday.

As for curbside choosing, it is not thought of looting – or theft by regulation, Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk stated on Fb.

“We all know that there’s deep emotional ache in having to throw away private gadgets which were ruined by the storm. And it looks like a violation when strangers are going by these issues out on the street. It actually hurts and might set off anger, but it surely’s not illegal and you shouldn’t react with violence or aggression,” he stated.

He warned pickers to not let their enthusiasm for “free stuff” lead them “past the proper of means.” 

“It’s against the law and it’s Florida. Florida householders and tenants have rights. Simply saying. Bear in mind,” Rambosk stated.

And rumors proceed to be dispelled, he added. No, the Naples Pier just isn’t completely destroyed and the Sanibel Lighthouse is not gone.

Though the lighthouse is partly gone, the sunshine stays, he stated.

– Laura Layden, Naples Day by day Information

Florida emergency chief defends controversial evacuation resolution

Lee County’s resolution not to order evacuations till Tuesday morning – a day after neighboring counties had already warned residents of low-lying areas to go away – was made solely by county officers, Florida Emergency Administration Director Kevin Guthrie stated Monday. The choice to attend in a single day to gauge Hurricane Ian’s path apparently clashed with the county’s personal planning protocols for ordering residents out even when a minimal danger of great storm surge might accompany an approaching storm. However Guthrie was supportive of native officers.

“They made one of the best resolution based mostly on the data on the time,” Guthrie stated at a Monday briefing in Tallahassee. “When making choices in a catastrophe, emergency administration administrators would not have a crystal ball.” 

Fuel tax reduction a well-timed break for Floridians

Florida’s fuel tax reduction got here at simply the proper time this weekend because the state begins on its lengthy highway to restoration after Hurricane Ian. The Florida Motor Gasoline Tax Reduction Act of 2022 kicked in Saturday and dropped the price of gas to a median of $3.26 per gallon, the bottom each day common worth since January. The state’s common worth per gallon declined 13 cents this week and bolsters the already-steep drop in pump costs for the reason that summer time.

“Whereas everybody may not be so fortunate to see sub-$Three gasoline, all Floridians ought to count on a sizeable low cost this week,” stated AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins.

– Ana Goñi-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat

Deployment of latest plane provider delayed by climate

The primary deployment of the Navy’s latest and most superior plane provider, the usGerald R. Ford, which was poised to set sail Monday from Norfolk, Virginia, was postponed due to storm issues, the Navy 2nd Fleet introduced. The brand new deployment date was not introduced. Ford is the flagship of the Gerald R. Ford Provider Strike Group, greater than 1,000 ft lengthy and accommodating a crew of 4,500. It’ll in the end sail within the Atlantic alongside ships from NATO Allies, the Navy stated.

Cat rescue goes viral, attracts donations

Michael Ross, of Naples, Florida, was in Bonita Springs when Hurricane Ian plowed by. Ross, 29, stated he and his household appeared out the window and saw a cat clinging to an air conditioning unit. A video of Ross trudging by swirling floodwaters to pluck the cat to security went viral and has helped draw 1000’s of {dollars} in donations.

“I used to be in a position to go on the market and get it, and it is a good factor I did,” Ross stated. “After that video was taken, the water got here up like one other 6 ft. And that air conditioner he was sitting on was underwater.”

Ross began a GoFundMe page to assist displaced pets and other people in want. To date it has drawn greater than $22,000. However he hasn’t been capable of finding the proprietor of the cat but.

“If we won’t discover one, I am gonna preserve it,” Ross stated.

– Tomas Rodriguez, Naples Day by day Information

After Hurricane Ian was gone, ‘all of the water got here’

Flooding pushed by 20 inches of rain dropped by Ian blocked a number of roads in Florida’s DeSoto County, turning some neighborhoods into islands. Along with flooding properties, the waters engulfed a fuel station and the Peace River Campground, the place about 150 individuals lived year-round, officers stated. Lingering’ widespread energy outages and poor cell service hampered evacuation efforts through airboats regardless of the assistance of the Florida Nationwide Guard. Authorities have been distributing water and ready-made meals to stranded individuals who did not wish to depart.

“We learn about hurricanes however flooding is a brand new factor for us,” stated DeSoto County Commissioner J.C. Deriso. “The storm, our neighborhood was fairly properly ready for. However the flood was fairly surprising. Rivers rise and fall yearly. However what we noticed was as soon as in a lifetime. Not less than we hope so.” Read more here.

– Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

DeSantis seeks expedited restoration effort for ‘500-year flood occasion’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed Sunday for expedited restoration efforts in southwest Florida, closely broken by Ian final week. DeSantis toured a number of the areas nonetheless experiencing flooding from the storm, surveying harm by boat in North Port in Sarasota County after which Arcadia in DeSoto County. Earlier within the day, he distributed meals and water to hurricane victims in Naples in Collier County.

Properties in Arcadia have been nonetheless flooded as much as their rooftops and RVs have been virtually utterly submerged, DeSantis stated at a information convention Sunday.

“This was such an enormous storm, that introduced a lot water, that you’ve got principally what’s been a 500-year flood occasion right here in DeSoto County, and a number of the neighboring counties,” DeSantis stated. 

Virtually 600,000 properties and companies throughout Florida remained with out energy Monday, in accordance with PowerOutage.us. Florida Energy & Mild, the state’s largest energy firm, stated it had restored electrical energy to almost 1.7 million prospects and expects to revive the vast majority of energy by Friday.

– Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Fort Myers churchgoers share their Ian survival tales

Sunday morning, a number of dozen seniors trickled right into a shattered Fort Myers church not removed from the place Hurricane Ian made landfall a couple of days earlier. Exterior lay an overturned Jeep and dumpsters blown right into a tree line. A close-by low cost mall and a cellular residence park lay in tatters. Energy traces dangled over a highway resulting in Sanibel Island, reduce off by a destroyed bridge.

Below Southwest Baptist’s toppled steeple have been soaked flooring and holes within the roof. Bible pages fanned out to dry. Within the chapel, displaced members slept on makeshift beds manufactured from chairs and boiled water with propane burners.

The church insisted on holding a service – even when it needed to be held outdoors – for a susceptible neighborhood thunderstruck by loss and trauma. Read the full story.

– Chris Kenning, USA TODAY

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz and Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY; Sergio Bustos, USA TODAY Community Florida; Ed Reed and Stacey Henson, Fort Myers Information-Press; The Related Press