At least 100 dead from Hurricane Ian as Florida's top emergency official defends Lee County over delayed evacuations
Florida's top emergency administrator on Monday defended local response to Hurricane Ian, amid growing criticism of Lee County officials.
Hurricane Ian's death toll reached 100 Monday as Florida's top emergency administrator pushed back against growing criticism of Lee County officials who were accused of being slow to evacuate low-lying communities.
The latest count was 96 deaths in Florida and four in North Carolina. Lee County, Florida, where officials didn't order evacuations until Tuesday, 54 had been confirmed dead. Ian made landfall Wednesday, devastating Fort Myers and Sanibel Island.
“I believe Lee County and their administration …. made the best decision they felt was right for their community at that time," said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "And I will never second-guess a local emergency manager on their decision.”
While other nearby jurisdictions took such action a day or two earlier than Lee County, he refused to criticize the decisions.
Lugo Elieser and his wife, Mara, who kept a boat docked nearby, look at the destroyed bridge leading to Pine Island in Matlacha, Fla., on Sunday. The only bridge to the island is heavily damaged, so it can be reached only by boat or air. Gerald Herbert / AP“Emergency management directors do not have a crystal ball,” Guthrie told reporters. “They made the best decision on the information they had at the time.”
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