(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The death toll from Hurricane Ian climbed past 80 on Sunday as
embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas faced a recovery
expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some officials
faced criticism over their response to the storm, reports citing .
The death toll was expected to keep rising as floodwaters
receded and search teams pushed farther into areas initially cut
off from the outside world. Hundreds of people have been rescued as
emergency workers sifted through homes and buildings inundated with
water or completely washed away.
At least 85 storm-related deaths have been confirmed since Ian
crashed ashore Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force on
Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of
150 miles per hour (240 km per hour).
Florida accounted for all but four of the fatalities, with 42
tallied by the sheriff's office in coastal Lee County, which bore
the brunt of the storm when it made landfall, and 39 other deaths
reported by officials in four neighboring counties.
Officials in Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape
Coral and is on the Gulf Coast, have faced questions over whether
they mandated evacuations in time.
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