Search and rescue efforts underway in Florida after ‘catastrophic’ hurricane

Search and rescue efforts underway in Florida after ‘catastrophic’ hurricane


An aerial picture taken on September 30, 2022 shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida.

Ricardo Arduengo | AFP | Getty Images

Search and rescue efforts are underway in Florida after a devastating Category 4 hurricane made landfall Wednesday.

At least 77 people have been confirmed dead and more than 860,000 people are still without power, according to NBC News. There is “significant damage” along Florida’s west coast and many homes in central parts of the state are still underwater, FEMA director Deanne Criswell told ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.

She said the road to recovery is going to be long.

“We’re still actively in the search and rescue phase, trying to make sure that we are accounting for everybody that was in the storm’s path, and that we go through every home to make sure that we don’t leave anybody behind,” she said.

Criswell said Hurricane Ian was “catastrophic,” and officials knew it would have a big impact on Florida residents. A large number of federal and state search and rescue resources were staged and ready to go out “immediately” after the storm, she said.

“They were out before daybreak on Thursday,” Criswell said. “They are still there today.”

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida echoed that sentiment while addressing concerns over rebuilding mobile home parks in Florida and the need for potentially stricter building codes. He said those decisions should be decided by each county.

“You don’t ever want these things to happen again,” he said during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I think every county is going to have to look at that and say, ‘Does that make sense to their county.”‘

Commenting on overall recovery efforts, Scott addressed concerns in the property insurance market, noting that insurance fraud is hurting some companies in Florida or discouraging others from conducting business in the state.

“You have to have stricter building codes,” he said. “You have to make sure that you learn from every storm and on top of that you have to make sure there’s no fraud.”

President Joe Biden will visit Florida on Wednesday to meet with officials and assess storm damage, the White House announced Saturday.

He will also visit Puerto Rico as it works to recover from Hurricane Fiona, which hit the island as a Category 1 storm in September.

“We’ll do everything we can to get these communities back on their feet,” Biden said on Twitter.





Source

Here are the retailers raising prices as Trump tariffs take hold
Business

Here are the retailers raising prices as Trump tariffs take hold

A person picks out clothing in a store as retailers compete to attract shoppers and try to maintain margins on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, U.S. November 24, 2023.  Vincent Alban | Reuters Consumers who hoped tariffs would not […]

Read More
This is why Jamie Dimon is so gloomy on the economy
Business

This is why Jamie Dimon is so gloomy on the economy

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, testifies during the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing titled Annual Oversight of Wall Street Firms, in the Hart Building on Dec. 6, 2023. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images The more Jamie Dimon worries, the better his bank seems to do. As JPMorgan […]

Read More
Summer rentals in the Hamptons are down 30%
Business

Summer rentals in the Hamptons are down 30%

Key Points Summer rentals in the Hamptons are down 30% from the same period in previous years, according to Judi Desiderio of William Raveis Real Estate. Brokers who focus on ultra-high-end rentals are seeing an even bigger drop and say their rental business is down between 50% and 75%. Some renters may be holding out […]

Read More