The hurricane damages the snowballs … Rescue and recovery difficulties

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▲ Paramedics inspect a collapsed bridge in Spring Hill, Florida, USA that was swept by Hurricane Ion on the 2nd (local time). Pine Island, which was once connected by a bridge, is badly damaged and can only be reached by boat or plane.
Florida AP Yonhap News

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The extent of damage is increasing in the southeastern part of the United States, which was scratched by Hurricane “Ion”.

According to Reuters on the 2nd (local time), at least 85 people have been killed by the hurricane since Ian landed on the Gulf coast of Florida, United States, on the 28th of last month.

Authorities in Lee County, Florida, one of the areas hardest hit by the hurricane, said the death toll had risen to 42. 39 people were also killed in four neighboring counties.

Ion is considered to be the fifth most powerful hurricane in US history. At one time, accompanied by strong winds of up to 240 km / h, Ion was classified as the second strongest Category 4 hurricane among Category 5 hurricanes. Hundreds of buildings have been flooded or collapsed, particularly in parts of the Florida, with record showers of once every thousand years. Insurance companies predicted that the amount of ion damage claims would reach $ 28 billion to $ 47 billion, the highest amount since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Rescue and recovery operations are also in difficulty. As of that night, at least 689,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still experiencing power outages, CNN reported. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said more than 1,100 people were rescued from flooded areas in southwestern and central Florida.

With the spread of the number of victims, the theory of responsibility is also raised. In Lee County, the first evacuation order wasn’t issued until the day before the hurricane landed, it turned out to be a day later than other areas, CNN reported. Meanwhile, Governor DeSantis retorted that the evacuation order was issued in time, saying the hurricane’s predicted path had changed as it moved south.

The White House said in a statement the same day that President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, have visited Puerto Rico, hit by Hurricane Fiona on the 3rd, and will travel to Florida on the 5th to inspect the damage.

Journalist Lee Tae-kwon

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