Frustration and desperation mount as Ian's effects linger
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Days after the skies cleared and the winds died down in Florida, Hurricane Ian's effects persisted Monday, as people faced another week without power and others were being rescued from homes inundated with lingering floodwaters.
Frustration and desperation mounted in the path the storm cut through Florida, and the hurricane's remnants, now a nor'easter, weren't done with the U.S.
The mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts were getting flooding rains. The storm's onshore winds piled even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay.
Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared states of emergency, although a shift in wind direction prevented potentially catastrophic levels Monday, said Cody Poche, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia
Coastal flooding shut down the only highway to part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and flooding was possible all the way to Long Island, the National Weather Service said.
At least 68 people have been confirmed dead: 61 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba since Ian made landfall on the Caribbean island on Sept. 27 and in Florida a day later.
Search and rescue efforts were still ongoing Monday in Florida. More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, according to Florida's emergency management agency.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy told NBC's "Today Show" that residents who evacuated were largely being kept away from their homes because of searches likely to last a few more days.
Washed-out bridges to barrier islands, flooded roadways, spotty cellphone service and a lack of water, electricity or the internet left hundreds of thousands isolated. The situation in many areas wasn't expected to improve for several days because waterways were overflowing, leaving the rain that fell with nowhere to go.
In DeSoto County, northeast of Fort Myers, the Peace River and tributaries reached record high levels.
Many residents in the rural county of about 37,000 people could be reached only by boat. Many roads that remained above water were blocked, and deputies in ATVs were clearing debris and creating teams to find and help stranded residents, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, which was assisting with the efforts.
Joe Gunn said the first two days without power at his Punta Gorda home weren't bad because he, his wife and 4-year-old daughter like to camp.
But then they ran out of gas, Gunn said as he waited for an hour for $20 worth of premium fuel from a Bonita Springs station, one of the few open in the area. The family then drove to get supplies and a hot meal.
Gunn was preparing for another stressful night, worried someone might try to steal his supplies. "I am constantly listening to the generator. It's pitch black outside of the house," he said.
Across southwest Florida, residents whose homes were overrun by the sea or floods threw waterlogged mattresses, couches and other belongings into the street and tore out floors and cut into walls, hoping to dry the shells of their houses before mold set in.
"Everything that got water is starting to mold. We're cutting all the drywall out, 2 feet up, trying to get things dried out to save the house and to protect it from more damage," said Jeff Rioux, thankful for several days of nice weather and generators to run fans.
Neighbors helped each other where they could.
"I lost everything," said Alice Pujols, crying as she picked through the heaps of castaway clothes at a stranger's home. "I'm just looking for what I can salvage."
About 550,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity on Monday morning, down from a peak of 2.6 million. But that is still nearly the same amount of customers in all of Rhode Island.
The current goal is to restore power by Sunday to customers whose power lines and other electric infrastructure is still intact, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Monday. It does not include homes or areas where infrastructure needs to be rebuilt.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden plan to visit Florida on Wednesday. The president was in Puerto Rico on Monday, promising to "rebuild it all" after Hurricane Fiona knocked out all power to the island two weeks ago.
In Virginia, the U.S. Navy postponed the first-ever deployment of the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, the nation's most advanced aircraft carrier, according to a statement from the Navy's 2nd Fleet. The carrier and other U.S. ships were scheduled to leave Norfolk on Monday for training exercises in the Atlantic Ocean with vessels from other NATO Countries.
Coast Guard, municipal and private crews have been using helicopters, boats and even Jet Skis to evacuate people over the past several days.
After moving across Florida, Ian made another landfall in the U.S. in South Carolina as a much weaker hurricane. Officials said Monday that crews were finishing removing sand from coastal roads and nearly all power had been restored.
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Associated Press reporters Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee; Frieda Frisaro and David Fischer in Miami; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.
