TALLAHASSEE — A 96-year-old Charlotte County man discovered trapped underneath a automotive in excessive water is the oldest sufferer of Hurricane Ian’s lethal course by way of Southwest Florida, whose wrath is now revealed in a grim spreadsheet compiled by the state’s Medical Examiners’ Fee.
The 68-person record of confirmed lifeless is definite to develop, as rescue and restoration efforts proceed in areas battered by the Class 4 storm and the flooding it spawned after it made landfall final Wednesday close to Cayo Costa on Florida’s Gulf coast.
However in spare, jarring element, the final moments of the lives of Floridians caught in one in every of nation’s strongest storms is revealed within the health workers’ report — although victims should not recognized by identify.
“The decedent was exterior her residence smoking a cigarette when a gust of wind from the hurricane blew her off the porch and she or he subsequently struck her head on a concrete step,” was the outline of how a 71-year-old Manatee County lady died Thursday.
“911 was referred to as, however EMS (emergency companies) was delayed on account of climate,” the report concludes.
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Most of Hurricane Ian’s lifeless had been in Lee County
The most important share of Hurricane Ian’s lifeless — 45 folks — listed within the health workers’ report, had been in Lee County.
A 54-year-old Lee County man died making an attempt to flee rising flood waters. “The decedent tried to get out of a window and have become trapped,” was how the report mentioned he was discovered Thursday, the day after the storm slammed into southwest Florida.
The emotional trauma of the storm additionally claimed no less than one sufferer, the report reveals.
“Decedent shot himself after seeing property harm on account of hurricane,” was the abstract for a 73-year-old Lee County man who died Friday.
The 96-year-old discovered lifeless underneath a automotive in Charlotte County was amongst 5 Floridians age 90 or older killed within the storm.
The youngest storm sufferer was age 22, and recognized in information experiences as Tyler Watson of Lake Wales. Watson was a passenger in a pickup truck pushed by Hosie Session, Jr., 70, which collided with a downed tree in Polk County on Saturday morning. Session was hospitalized.
Thirty-eight of the victims had been age 65 or older. And experiences on those that died in Lee County confirmed simply how rapidly Ian might flip lethal.
“Decedent was crushed by sliding glass door and pool cage,” was how a 65-year-old man evidently died Friday.
A 73-year-old man found Thursday was “discovered lifeless by neighbor following hurricane; storm surge in space (was a) minimal of eight ft,” the report confirmed.
For a lot of with well being issues, the storm proved an excessive amount of to beat.
A 70-year-old Lee County lady who had hypertension, recovering from a stroke and different medical points, was “present in flood waters as much as chest.” Her demise Saturday was attributed to “delayed medical entry on account of hurricane.”
An 89-year-old man who died Friday in Lee County was described as “oxygen dependent.”
“Misplaced energy and had generator failure,” the health workers’ report concluded. “Decedent unable to make use of required tools.”
USA At the moment Community-Florida reporter Douglas Soule contributed to this report. John Kennedy is a reporter within the USA TODAY Community’s Florida Capital Bureau. He may be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport
