Photos Show Massive Recovery Days After Hurricane Ian Hit Florida, Carolinas
By Emma Newburger,CNBC ••
Days after Hurricane Ian hit Florida and the Carolinas, residents are struggling to navigate flooded roads and neighborhoods and federal emergency management officials are conducting major search-and-rescue efforts amid the destruction.
The recorded death toll from the storm surpassed 80 over the weekend and is expected to rise as floodwaters recede and rescue teams are able to access new areas.
Insurers could also face costs of up to $57 billion from Hurricane Ian's damage in Florida and South Carolina, risk modeling firm Verisk said Monday.
In Florida, which took the brunt of the hurricane, roughly 600,000 homes and businesses were without power as of Monday morning, down from a peak of 2.6 million on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 1,600 people have been rescued across the state, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are traveling to Florida on Wednesday to assess the hurricane damage. Last week, the president said the destruction from Hurricane Ian is likely to be among the worst in the country's history.
"We're just beginning to see the scale of that destruction," the president said during a briefing on Friday. "It's likely to rank among the worst ... in the nation's history."
Broken section of Pine Island Road and destroyed houses in Matlacha, Florida
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Home inundated by floodwaters in North Port, Florida
Sign reads 'Loot and I Shoot' outside of storm-damaged home in Naples, Florida
Soldiers unload water from an army helicopter in Pine Island, Florida
A fallen tree blocks Holt Street in Charlotte, North Carolina
Man offers assistance to his neighbors in Orlando, Florida
Collapsed Sanibel Causeway in the aftermath of storm in Sanibel, Florida
Rescuers help people trapped in storm-hit areas in North Port, Florida
Vehicles and homes submerged in water in Orlando, Florida