• Temporary Ian is once again a hurricane in the US Atlantic and is heading for Georgia and the Carolinas

  • USA Biden warns that Hurricane Ian could be the “deadliest” in Florida history

The preliminary figures of deaths from the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in

Florida rise to at least 15, according to several

US

media

such as

CNN,

which has made a balance this Thursday based on information from local authorities, although the state governor,

Ron DeSantis

said today that "mortality" is expected, without giving figures.

According to

CNN,

in southwestern and central Florida at least 15 people have been reported dead so far due to the hurricane.

In

Charlotte County,

where the town of

Punta Gorda is located,

there were "at least eight or nine deaths," CNN said, citing a local official, Commissioner (Councilman)

Joseph Tiseo,

who deals with the fifth district of this county.

Charlotte County is located on the west coast of Florida and very close to the area where Ian made landfall yesterday with category 4,

It is also "believed" that about five people died in Lee County, adjoining Charlotte and where

Fort Myers is located,

where it seems from the images that the greatest flooding and loss of homes occurred.

Lee's sheriff, Carmine Marceno,

said on social media that they are "devastated" by Ian's fallout.

Marceno conducted an aerial tour of Lee County Thursday morning to begin assessing the damage caused by Ian and showed images of extensive structural damage and flooding throughout the area.

Sarasota County (west) reported two hurricane-related deaths for its part,

Sheriff

Kaitlyn Perez told

CNN

, adding that her office had no additional details on where the deaths occurred or information on the people who lost their lives.

On the other hand, a person who was in palliative care died in

Osceola

County (central Florida), according to CNN, citing the director

of Emergency Management, Bill Litton.

In addition, one of the possible victims is a 72-year-old man from the town of

Deltona,

northeast of Orlando, who perished early Thursday morning after falling into a canal while emptying his pool in the midst of heavy rain, according to the police.

Volusia

County police

in central Florida.

At a press conference this Thursday night from Tallahassee, the state capital, DeSantis said: "We expect mortality, but the figures will arrive over the next few days."

This same day, in the town of Punta Gorda, on the west coast of Florida, one of the most affected areas, DeSantis was optimistic about the prompt arrival of aid from other states, but did not offer information on deaths directly caused by the cyclone.

On the other hand, estimates of insured material losses range "widely" between 30,000 and 50,000 million dollars, according to catastrophe risk modelers such as Fitch Ratings.

This excludes claims to

the National Flood Insurance Program,

according to the

Sun Sentinel.

Property and casualty insurers operating in Florida are just beginning "the massive effort" to assess the damage left by Hurricane

Ian

across southwestern and central Florida between Wednesday and Thursday.

Accurate damage estimates may not be available for days, the same local media reported.

Ian became a hurricane again this Thursday in the waters of the US

Atlantic

on its way to

Georgia

and the

Carolinas,

states that it now threatens with floods, storm surges and strong winds, after leaving much of Florida devastated.

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