Lee County

2022 - 9 - 29

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

Unconfirmed Hurricane Ian Death Toll From Lee County Spreads ... (The New York Times)

There is no official estimate of the number of people killed by Hurricane Ian in Lee County or across Florida.

“We have a few reports of some fatalities,” she said. “There are thousands of people that are waiting to be rescued and, again, cannot give a true assessment until we’re actually on the scene, assessing each scene, and we can’t access people, that’s the problem.” As people across Florida struggled on Thursday morning to understand the scale of the damage from Hurricane Ian, the sheriff of Lee County, Carmine Marceno, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that hundreds of people might have died in his county — an estimate that was quickly shared on social media and in some news reports.

Search, recovery, assessments begin day after Hurricane Ian ... (WUSF News)

At a briefing by county officials at the Lee County Emergency Operations Center, County Manager Roger DesJarlais said the county and partner agencies search ...

We will publicize to the best of our ability so that everyone will know where they can pick up water and those supplies," he said. And when you think about the failures that have taken place on the Sanibel Causeway and the bridges on the way to Pine Island, you know I would never have thought that those bridges would fail the way they have so exercise an awful lot of caution." Don't just assume you got the right away," he said. "And so if you need sheltering and you can't make your way out of town to more comfortable accommodations then you can come to the shelters." "Please stop and take an extra minute to be certain when you cross an intersection. "So over the next week or so, we will be will be rebuilding and fixing all of those traffic signals." "We hope to have all the bridges inspected ... and they're just gone," he said. And I would hope that we would have those resolved over the next day or so. "Likewise, there are five failures, structural failures, on Sanibel causeway, there are five sections of roadway that have just fallen away. "We know that the utility system's county-wide potable water and water treatment systems have failed," he said. "I can tell you that, you know, in all these years, I've not seen damage to Lee County from a storm like this," DesJarlais said.

Hurricane Ian: Lee County urges residents to stay off the roads ... (The News-Press)

Lee County gave an update on recovery efforts Friday morning and told residents to stay off the roads as they are hindering local relief efforts.

Lee County Utilities and other water providers ask that anyone who witnesses water bubbling up from the ground report it to the utility serving your area. Lee County shelter operations continue and shelter capacity will be maintained. If your home was impacted by the storm and you need shelter, you can still go. Lee County is working with its partners to establish Points of Distribution for free food and water. Traffic is also slowing responding agencies that are assessing roads, restoring electrical service and staging other recovery efforts." "First responders are encountering traffic that is hindering their efforts.

Lee County beachfront resident compares Hurricane Ian experience ... (Tampa Bay Times)

Many said they didn't ride out the storm in their waterfront mansions by choice. By the time they knew Ian had changed course, there wasn't time to leave.

[Will schools reopen quickly after Hurricane Ian passes? Nobody knew who owned the green race car that suddenly appeared in a home under construction. But while many lost everything, there were little moments of victory, shared in laughter between neighbors, that rung out through the eerily deserted wasteland that was once a real estate rubbernecker’s dream. Julie Walton had to fight back tears as she watched her grandchildren gather the little pieces of her home into a big pile in the front yard. By Thursday evening, all of Bonita Springs remained under a 6 p.m. ”I can’t even think about what could have happened last night,” she said. Down the street, Natiri Walton said she had evacuated from her dorm at the University of Tampa to her grandparents’ seaside fortress on Hickory Boulevard. He had hoped the remaining two vehicles — a fire-engine red 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona and a showstopping orange 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird — would be safe inside his concrete garage. By the time they knew Hurricane Ian was heading their way, there wasn’t time to leave. The streets, sidewalks and lawns were buried under at least two feet of wet sand and covered in a lattice of downed power lines. ”This house is like a fortress,” Stout said. Many residents were home to watch their belongings float out toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Lee County residents asked to stay off roads to assist recovery efforts (NBC2 News)

Fort Myers, FL, Sept. 30, 2022 – Motorists are instructed to stay off the roadways to allow recovery efforts to proceed safely.

Lee County Utilities and other water providers ask that anyone who witnesses water bubbling up from the ground report it to the utility serving your area. The Lee Board of County Commissioners meeting planned for Oct. Lee County shelter operations continue and shelter capacity will be maintained. If your home was impacted by the storm and you need shelter, you can still go. Lee County is working with its partners to establish Points of Distribution for free food and water. Urban Search and Rescue responders will be there to assist evacuation.

'We're going to get through this': Lee County sheriff's office shares ... (WFLA)

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Lee County Sheriff's Office posted powerful photos of destruction on Friday following Hurricane Ian.

Lee County Sheriff's Office makes looting arrests in devastated ... (WEAR)

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- The Lee County Sheriff's Office made arrests for looting on Friday.Lee County was devestatedSheriff Carmine Marceno means business and ...