A sheriff in the most severely affected area of Florida said early on Thursday, September 29, that hundreds of people have died after the historic Hurricane Ian devastated Florida.
As Floridians awaken and begin to understand the actual scope of the catastrophe, the death toll is anticipated to rise.
According to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, "This is a life-changing event for all of us."
He continued, "I don't have confirmed numbers, but I know the dead are in the hundreds.
He noted that conditions were too bad for his police and other rescuers to gain a true sense of the catastrophe, saying, "So far, verified in the hundreds."
The issue is that we can't access individuals, and there are thousands of people waiting to be rescued. "We can't get a true assessment until we're actually on scene examining each incident," he said.
Rescue workers will "see stuff they've never seen before," the sheriff warned.
According to County Commissioner Kevin Ruane, more than 80% of the region was also without power, greatly complicating any efforts at rescue.
According to the NY Post, more than 2.5 million people in Florida were without power as of early Thursday.
Regarding the stranded, Ruane stated, "My heart goes out to them." "We'll try to go to them as soon as we can and help,"
