'Miracle': Captain tells incredible story about his boat during Hurricane Ian
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What we covered
Residents of Florida and the Carolinas are combing through the wreckage after Hurricane Ian made landfall last week, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.
Ian killed at least 100 people in Florida. Another four people died in storm-related incidents as Ian churned into North Carolina.
Meanwhile, President Biden visited Puerto Rico on Monday, weeks after Hurricane Fiona ravaged the territory. He’s expected to visit Florida later this week.
More than 500,000 customers in Florida still do not have power, according to PowerOutage.us.
Our live coverage has ended. See the latest news on the storm hereor read the posts below.
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"When you are walking around the ruins, it’s an apocalyptic scene," Fort Myers Beach council member says
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
(Courtesy Bill Veach)
A council member for Fort Myers Beach in Florida said Monday that pieces of his destroyed home were found two blocks away after Hurricane Ian crashed ashore as a Category 4 story last week.
Bill Veach said his family lived in a 90-year-old cottage to which they had built an addition. The old home is in complete ruins with only the addition left standing.
Only four homes on Veach’s street are salvageable, he told CNN.
“I know people are anxious to get back on the island but the roads are still impassable,” he said.
(Courtesy Bill Veach)
(Courtesy Bill Veach)
“You see a friend that you weren’t sure was alive or dead and that brings you joy. A joy that is so much more than the loss of property,” he added.
The Lee County Sheriff said in a statement Monday that search and rescue operations are continuing and that teams will be entering homes if there is a “reasonable belief” of a victim.
Some background: Fort Myers Beach is located on Estero Island in southwest Florida and has a population of around 5,600 people, according to the US Census. Earlier Monday, a county official said power may not be restored to the community for at least a month after Hurricane Ian had destroyed the electrical infrastructure.
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Jayron Purvis, 22, died as Ian passed through North Carolina
From CNN’s David Williams and Amanda Jackson
Jayron Purvis, 22, died Friday as the remnants of Hurricane Ian passed through Robersonville, North Carolina.
Robersonville is Martin County and about 18 miles north of Greenville, North Carolina.
Purvis is one of four storm-related deaths in the state.
According to a release from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, three people died in separate vehicle-related incidents on Friday and one person died from carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator in a closed garage.
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Florida hoping to complete a temporary bridge to Pine Island by the end of the week, governor says
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
More than 130 Florida Department of Transportation trucks have been deployed to work on a temporary bridge for Pine Island, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference.
The goal is to have the temporary bridge completed by the end of the week, he said.
DeSantis said that most of the residents don’t want to leave the island, the largest on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The island, which is about 17 miles long and lies just south of Fort Myers, is made up of five communities and has a population of around 9,000 people.
FDOT is also putting together a plan for a temporary fix for the causeway to Sanibel Island, which lies to the south of Pine Island, the governor said.
The state is currently accepting bids for that work. It is unknown how long it will take to get the temporary fix for Sanibel, he said.
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Elizabeth McGuire found dead in her home in Cape Coral, family says
From CNN's Christina Zdanowicz
(Courtesy Susan McGuire)
Elizabeth McGuire, 49, was found dead in her Cape Coral, Florida, home Friday after Hurricane Ian tore through the area, her son told CNN.
Police told her son that his mother had died in her bed holding her cellphone and it looked like she died instantly, Andrew Chedester said.
Her family had last spoken to McGuire on Wednesday and was having trouble reaching her since then, Chedester said.
A Cape Coral Police Department detective knocked on his door Friday and told him of his mother’s death, Chedester said. He had already received a call from his mother’s ex-boyfriend just before that, he said.
CNN also spoke to her mother Susan McGuire, who learned of her daughter’s death through Chedester. She said her daughter had been suffering from blood clots from deep-vein thrombosis and was on disability.
McGuire was stranded on Pine Island and had limited cell service during and after the storm. She was evacuated to the mainland on Sunday by the US Coast Guard and she has an appointment Tuesday at the funeral home to make arrangements with her grandson.
“One hundred blizzards will not cost you what one hurricane will cost you,” said McGuire, who had moved to the area from Maryland a few years ago. “My husband’s business whipped out, my daughter is dead. The destruction is massive. I never had a blizzard take anything away from me.”
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Florida working to consolidate lists to account for those still missing
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
When asked if the state had a number of how many people remain unaccounted for in the storm, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said authorities are still working to compile a list.
Guthrie said that there is a lot of “disbarred data across multiple platforms” that they are working to consolidate.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed someone to do that and officials hope to have a better number in the next couple of days, Guthrie said.
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1,000 people have been evacuated from Sanibel Island in last 5 days, official says
From CNN’s Amy Simonson
People walk toward a ferry boat to be evacuated from Sanibel Island on October 1.
(Ted Richardson/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Sanibel Fire Chief William Briscoe said that crews have evacuated at least 1,000 people since Hurricane Ian ripped through the island.
Briscoe, who gave an update at the City of Sanibel budget meeting Monday, said officials are completing assessments on which homes are livable.
Effective Wednesday, the city will allow residents with identification to be transported to the island from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to assess their property, according to City Manager Dana Souza.
Residents will be entering at their own risk and the city cannot provide protection, Souza said, adding that there is limited ability to respond to fires or medical emergencies and people can be injured easily due to debris.
Residents will see signs on their homes that will advise them if their home is livable or not, Souza said.
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Power crews will be flown into Sanibel and Pine Islands to assess outages since bridge is still out
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
Responders survey damage to the bridge leading to Pine Island in Matlacha, Florida on Sunday, October 2.
(Gerald Herbert/AP)
The National Guard will be flying power crews into Sanibel and Pine Islands in Florida to access the damage and start working on restoring power.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that it is important to get the crews there now and not wait for the bridge to be rebuilt, which could take weeks.
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Virginia Beach to resume normal operations on Tuesday, the city says
From CNN's Raja Razek
Virginia Beach will resume normal operations on Tuesday, but will continue to monitor storm impacts as additional moderate to major tidal flooding is expected, according to a statement on Monday from the City of Virginia Beach.
The tidal gauge in Lynnhaven, one of Virginia Beach’s boroughs, hit a “major” flood stage this afternoon, according to Virginia Beach Director of Communications Tiffany M. Russell.
But the “impacts were minimal with the forecasted tidal flooding decreasing by at least one foot from Sunday’s forecasted levels,” Russell said.
Some background: Virginia Beach was placed under a state of emergency Sunday night ahead of coastal flooding due in part to the remnants of the post-tropical storm Ian.
The peak threat was expected to be Monday afternoon at high tide, which peaked around 4 p.m. However, officials warn the threat will continue through Tuesday.
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More than 1,900 people have been rescued in Florida since Hurricane Ian hit, governor says
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
More than1,900 people have been rescued since Hurricane Ian hit Florida last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference in Cape Coral on Monday.
Statewide, 95% of customers have power, although more than 50% of those in hard-hit Charlotte and Lee counties are still in the dark, according to the governor.
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Power may not be restored to Fort Myers Beach for a month, county manager says
From CNN’s Amy Simonson
Jose Ramirez, a resident of the San Carlos Island mobile home park, washes dishes using a flashlight in his home in Fort Myers Beach.
Power may not be restored in Fort Myers Beach for at least a month after Hurricane Ian destroyed the electrical infrastructure, according to Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais.
Officials cannot keep people from returning to their homes, but it isn’t safe because of the widespread damage as well as the lack of water and electricity, Desjarlais told a news conference Monday.
Statewide, more than 500,000 customers remain without power, according to PowerOutage.Us.
The county is still unsure of the number of people who are missing and that the search and rescue efforts will continue, Desjarlais said, adding that the death toll is uncertain but that the medical examiner will be releasing information in the coming days.
When a reporter asked him about whether or not residents were given enough time to evacuate, he said the county made the decision to evacuate at the earliest time possible.
Fort Myers Beach is located on Estero Island in southwest Florida and has a population of around 5,600 people, according to the US Census.
Fort Myers Beach councilmember Dan Allers last week estimated that 90% of the island buildings were gone, including businesses that had been there for decades and had weathered several hurricanes.
“When I say gone, it’s not just the insides of the houses — it’s brick homes, it’s houses that were on stilts, wood homes,” Allers told CNN. “It’s gone.”
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Hurricane Ian could put a dent in US GDP growth
From CNN's Alicia Wallace
The devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian likely caused more than $50 billion in damages — and also dinged overall US economic output, economists say.
Initial damages from the deadly storm are estimated to be in the range of $45 billion to $55 billion in Florida and at least several billion dollars in South Carolina, according to Laura Ratz, an economist with Moody’s Analytics.
The hurricane’s impact on local municipalities in Florida and South Carolina is so severe that it is expected to slash third-quarter economic growth in those states by 3 percentage points and 2 percentage points, respectively, according to Oxford Economics.
What’s more, the storm also stands to take a bite out of national gross domestic product growth in the near term.
Gregory Daco, chief economist with EY Parthenon, projected Hurricane Ian could have a -0.3 percentage point impact on third-quarter GDP and bring down fourth-quarter GDP by 0.1 percentage points. Taking Ian’s estimated impact into account, Daco now projects GDP growth of 1.7% in the third quarter and a contraction of 1.4% in the fourth quarter.
“You have power outages, you have flight cancellations, you have disruptions to energy extraction and refinement, you have disruptions to crops — all of those are part of normal economic activity,” Daco said.
Bonita Springs first responders rescued more than 100 people from worst-hit areas, assistant fire chief says
From CNN’s Amy Simonson
Bonita Springs Fire Department crews rescued more than 100 people from the worst-hit areas of the beach community in southwest Florida, according to the assistant chief.
Crews have completed primary and secondary searches, concentrated on Black Island, Hickory Island and the Imperial River Preserve area, Assistant Chief Jason Brod said at a news conference Monday. “We’ve rescued over 100 people from those areas at this time,” he said.
Power lines remain down across the city, according to City Manager Arlene Hunter, who said that cooling and charging stations will open Tuesday at the Bonita Springs Recreation center for residents.
She said that the beaches remain closed and that the city is working hard to assemble a way for residents to make a safe return home.
Hunter also advised residents who live near canals and rivers to pay attention to water levels.
“Sheet flow, which is a natural phenomenon, can occur after a hurricane, and cause rivers and canals to rise,” she said.
Biden announces $60 million in funding to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona
President Joe Biden, with first lady Jill Biden and Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, left, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, right, delivers remarks on Hurricane Fiona in Ponce, Puerto Rico on Monday.
(Evan Vucci/AP)
President Joe Biden announced $60 million in funding to help Puerto Rico rebuild, weeks after Hurricane Fiona ravaged the US territory.
Announcing the investment in Ponce, the President said on Monday the money will help coastal areas “become better prepared for the storm.” One example is to create a flood warning system to improve levees and flood walls.
Biden said his administration is particularly focused on the power grid in Puerto Rico. To date, the island has received $4 million to make the power grid “more resilient,” according to the President.
Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico on Sept. 21, a White House fact sheet said, and over 1,000 federal response workers were on the ground providing support with over 450 members of the Puerto Rico National Guard activated.
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Florida hospitals experiencing "significant pressure" on capacity, state hospital association CEO says
From CNN Health’s Carma Hassan
Hospitals in southwest Florida worked to reestablish reliable access to water supply and coordinated patient transfers over the weekend, Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, told CNN on Monday.
About 200 patients are affected by the complete evacuation of two hospitals in Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. The hospital in Sarasota County expects to reopen this week and be able to bring back patients. The second hospital had its roof blown off, so it will take longer for repairs.
Lee Health in Lee County has stopped triaging and transferring patients because water pressure has been restored.
But hospitals are still continuing to face challenges, Mayhew said.
Some more context: Hospitals don’t typically discharge patients who don’t have a place to go, whether their homes were damaged in the storm or their nursing homes were evacuated and temporarily closed.
An update on the number of staffed hospital beds available in the state was not immediately available.
Staffing is also impacted because many hospital workers have been displaced or lost their vehicles in the hurricane.
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Earlier evacuation notice for Lee County would have made no difference, Fort Myers mayor says
From CNN’s Amanda Musa
Betsy Hayward and her husband John Riili try to salvage their belongings from their RV mobile home in the Port Carlos Cove community located across from Fort Myers Beach on September 30.
(The Washington Post/Getty Images)
As Lee County officials face criticism for not issuing an evacuation order for residents earlier than a day ahead of time, the mayor of Fort Myers says he doesn’t think “it would have made a difference” because officials start pushing hurricane awareness in June.
Anderson insisted that it is up to residents to plan accordingly when a storm is expected to impact the area.
At least 54 people are dead in Lee County, Florida – where Fort Myers is located – following Hurricane Ian. However, the city itself has not reported any Ian-related fatalities.
“Most of the devastation is about 15 miles south of Fort Myers, in Fort Myers Beach, in the barrier island,” Anderson told CNN on Monday. “In the city itself, we were fortunate, we have no reported deaths related to the hurricane.”
About 75% of the City of Fort Myers has electricity, and running water is becoming more available, he said. “The recovery is all underway, businesses are starting to reopen, and downtown Fort Myers is very active right now.”
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Charlotte County death toll climbs to 24
From CNN's Devon Sayers and Michelle Watson
At least 24 people have died in Charlotte County, Florida, as a result of Hurricane Ian, according to an official with the sheriff’s office.
CNN previously reported 12 deaths in Charlotte County. This brings CNN’s tally of Hurricane Ian-related deaths in the US to 104.
The county deaths are a mix of direct and indirect deaths due to Hurricane Ian, with 23 in the county and one in Punta Gorda, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Claudette Smith told CNN.
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Fort Myers Beach authorities urged residents not to wait for Lee County orders to evacuate
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
Damaged homes and debris are seen in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday.
(Wilfredo Lee/AP)
The town of Fort Myers Beach encouraged residents on Monday – two days before Hurricane Ian made landfall — to evacuate if they lived in a high-risk flood zone, despite the fact that Lee County held off on an official announcement until Tuesday.
Officials in Lee County, where Fort Myers Beach is located, have come under fire after they issued their evacuation orders less than 24 hours before Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s southwest coast – a day later than several neighboring counties.
The morning of Sept. 26, Fort Myers Beach said the storm has strengthened and urged high-risk residents to evacuate. “If you live in a home with a high risk of flooding (ground level) or damage (mobile/manufactured) it is recommended that you implement a plan to ride out the storm in an elevated, secure, off-island structure.”
On the evening of Sept. 26, Fort Myers Beach said, “We have learned that Lee County plans to wait until the 5 a.m. forecast tomorrow to make a decision about whether or not to announce ordered evacuations in high risk zones,” it said, and noted that since Fort Myers Beach is in the highest risk zone. “We want to encourage any residents who have been making plans to leave the Island tomorrow to consider leaving sooner and get an early start.”
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Hurricane Ian-related death toll increases to more than 100
From CNN's Devon Sayers and Michelle Watson
CNN is reporting at least 104 total deaths from Ian on Monday.
That includes at least 100 deaths in Florida, with more than 50 reported in Lee County.
At least 24 people have died in Charlotte County, according to Claudette Smith with the sheriff’s office. Smith told CNN that the figure is a mix of direct and indirect deaths as a result of hurricane Ian.
Additionally, four storm-related deaths have been reported in North Carolina, according to a statement from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.
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Fort Myers Beach mayor doesn't have a timeline for when residents can return
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy said he understands residents want to know when they will be able to return to the area devastated by Hurricane Ian, but the answer isn’t so easy.
“It’s a tough one to answer,” he told CNN on Monday. “It could be next week, it could be a week after. I can’t give you a definitive answer about that today.”
Murphy, a 40-year resident of the beach, said he evacuated a few miles away to a hotel to ride out the storm.
While the walls and roof are still on his house “everything inside the house is gone,” he said, adding that four of the five city council members and the town manager all lost their houses in the storm.
“We know the pain,” he said. “But we’re looking at the positive. We’re alive and we’re going to keep going.”
At least 54 people have died from Hurricane Ian in Lee County, but it’s unclear how many of those are in Fort Myers Beach.
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Florida emergency department head says he won't 2nd guess evacuation calls by Lee County officials
From CNN’s Hannah Sarisohn
Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said he’d never second guess a local emergency manager on their evacuation decisions.
“I think that’s one thing that everybody needs to understand when making decisions in a disaster. Emergency management directors do not have a crystal ball,” Guthrie said at a briefing Monday. “Emergency management directors have a ton of scientific data and scientific storm surge models and so on, but they made the best decision.”
This comes as Lee County officials face questions on issuing mandatory evacuation orders a day before Hurricane Ian was forecast to make landfall, despite an emergency plan which suggests evacuations should have happened earlier.
Guthrie said first responders have been to every address at least once and are now doing second looks at “every single location.”
Here are some other updates that Guthrie provided on assistance for residents:
Over 600,000 customers remain without power.
FDEM is opening two more fuel depots in Sarasota and Hardee counties, totaling eight fuel depots across the state with 1.5 million gallons of fuel on hand.
FDEM is in the process of submitting 32 requests for FEMA public assistance, Guthrie said.
17 counties have been declared for category “A” debris removal assistance and individual assistance. Emergency protective measures remain in all 67 counties.
164,000 individuals have applied for FEMA individual assistance.
The next phase of sheltering is moving from emergency to short-term housing, a process managed by FEMA, Guthrie said, adding that FDEM is facing short-term housing challenges in Lee County as many hotels still don’t have water.
