Ian's death toll rises as massive rescue efforts continue in Florida - POLITICO

— Top Florida officials said Friday that the death toll wrought by Hurricane Ian has reached 21 people as search and rescue teams continue to comb through scores of wreckage hunting for survivors.

Inside, there appeared to be “human remains” but officials won’t be able to confirm anything until the flood waters reside, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Friday.

Some 1.7 million people are still without power — mostly in southwest Florida, which was hit the hardest.

As of Friday morning, there were 12 deaths in Charlotte County believed to be tied with the hurricane; eight in Collier County and one in Polk County, according to state officials.

Officials, however, did not speculate the possible number of fatalities in badly-hit Lee County, where reports on Thursday indicated that at least five people died there from the storm.

Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, unleashed winds of 150 mph when it crashed ashore Wednesday — causing what DeSantis described as a “500-year flood event.” At least 15,000 people were sheltering in place during the storm.

During a briefing on Friday, Biden said there are six fixed-wing aircraft, 18 rescue boats and crew and 16 rescue helicopters working on the rescue efforts.

One of the state’s top priorities as of Friday is working with federal and local officials to repair the water main break in Lee County, DeSantis said.

Biden, who spoke with DeSantis by phone Friday, is also expected to visit Florida soon.

Criswell said Friday that the feds will soon add more counties to the list.

Florida as of Friday has inspected and reopened an estimated 800 bridges, including some in high priority areas in the southwest, DeSantis said.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that the feds have deployed “thousands” of people among FEMA, the cybersecurity infrastructure agency and even TSA to aid Florida