America.. Hurricane Ian's death toll rises to 85

The death toll from Hurricane Ian exceeded 80 yesterday, as trapped residents of Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina faced a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars and some officials faced criticism over their handling of the storm.

The death toll is expected to continue to rise as the flood waters recede and search teams move into areas that were initially cut off from the outside world.

Hundreds of people were rescued as emergency personnel inspected homes and buildings that had been flooded or completely swept away.

At least 85 hurricane-related deaths have been confirmed since Ian hit the Florida gulf coast on Wednesday with catastrophic strength as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum winds of 240 kph.

All but four of the dead were in Florida, with the coastal Lee County mayor's office counting 42 dead in the county that bore the brunt of the storm when it made landfall, and officials in four neighboring counties recorded 39 more deaths.

Lee County officials faced questions about whether they had ordered the evacuations in a timely manner.

The White House said in a statement on Saturday that President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will witness the devastation in Florida live on Wednesday.

Biden and his wife are scheduled to visit Puerto Rico on Monday, where hundreds of thousands of people are still without electricity, two weeks after Hurricane Fiona swept the island.

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