Rescue efforts continue
“Ian” made landfall in Florida on Wednesday as a level four of five hurricane. It left destruction and flooding in its wake across the southern state. The authorities emphasized that the reconstruction will take months and sometimes even years. On Sunday, the water levels in some towns in central Florida continued to rise, as the head of the civil protection agency FEMA, Deanne Criswell, said on US television.
Rescue and clean-up efforts continued in the affected areas of Florida. The Coast Guard rescued more than 300 people, some from roofs and trees, and a good 80 pets with helicopters, among other things. In all, more than 1,100 people were recovered alive, Governor Ron DeSantis said. President Biden had expressed dire fears on Thursday, saying “this could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history.”
After Florida, “Ian” first went out to sea, regained some strength there and reached the coast of South Carolina on Friday with wind speeds of around 140 kilometers per hour. A few hours later, the winds weakened to around 95 kilometers per hour, according to the usual classification, the cyclone was no longer considered a hurricane.
Debate on the usefulness of reconstruction
Given the high death toll in Lee County, questions have been raised as to whether the evacuation order was issued too late. Sheriff Carmine defended the approach on Sunday: The hurricane had changed its route and only a day before it had become clear that it would hit Fort Myers rather than Tampa.
A debate also started as to whether expensive reconstruction in areas with severe storms made sense in the long term. Fema chief Criswell said strict building codes are needed for buildings to withstand the forces of nature. Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson told CBS that new buildings have mostly survived the hurricane.