Human remains canine detection handler Nyssa Meyerdirk, with Texas Task Force 1 urban search and rescue, works with her dog Artimys at a site where dogs had previously indicated the possibility of human remains. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
FLORIDA — It's been one week since Hurricane Ian plummeted through Florida's Southwest Coast, leveling homes, schools and businesses in its path. The Fort Meyers area, hit the worst, has been left in shambles as evacuees return home to a pile of mud and debris where their homes once stood.
Sanibel Island's streets are left littered with rotting fish and garbage as debris from washed-away homes are scattered across the area. Currently, the death toll sits at 101, with 92 of them being from Florida, 5 from North Carolina, 3 from Cuba and 1 from Virginia, according to reports from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.
CNN reported Friday that at least 125 people were killed as a result of the storm – 120 of them in Florida and five in North Carolina. Drowning was listed as a “possible” or known “circumstance” in the deaths of 40 people, the network said.
Find out what's happening in Fort Myersfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Take a look at photos below showing how residents are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Cars and debris from washed away homes line a canal in Fort Myers Beach, Florida on Wednesday, one week after the passage of Hurricane Ian. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Kathy Hickey, 70, carefully climbs across a ruined trailer as she picks her way through debris to where she and her husband Bruce had a winter home, a trailer originally purchased by Kathy's mother in 1979, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Snowbirds Bruce and Kathy Hickey, both 70, stand outside their damaged winter home. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)A resident navigates a canoe to his flooded home on Whitecomb Drive along the shore of Lake Harney in Geneva, Florida on Thursday. Despite the lake leveling off at a crested 8-feet above normal level, floodwaters from the St. Johns River have put his neighborhood underwater and continue to inundate other areas of Geneva and Sanford following historic levels of rainfall from Hurricane Ian last week. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)Bruce Hickey, 70, walks along the waterfront littered with debris, including shrimp boats, in the mobile home park . (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)In this aerial photo made in a flight provided by mediccorps.org, damage from Hurricane Ian is seen on the causeway leading to Sanibel Island from Fort Myers, Friday, September 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)Residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast barrier islands are returning to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian in Sanibel Island, despite limited access to some areas. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)A dead fish lies in the street as residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast barrier islands are returning to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian on Thursday, in Sanibel Island. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)Resident Pamela Brislin who has lived on Sanibel Island since 2020 cleans up the damage from Hurricane Ian in Sanibel Island. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)A worker picks up debris in a mobile home damaged by the hurricane. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)Nancy Anderson walks back to her mobile home in Fort Myers Beach, that was damaged by Hurricane Ian. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)Nancy Anderson sits in her mobile home as workers remove debris. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)Robin McDougall cleans out debris from her car's engine compartment with a leaf blower in Pine Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)Joe Kuczko puts up a tarp next to his mobile home in Pine Island. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)Steve Bermel, 61, uses a reciprocating saw to cut into the walls of his mobile home in Pine Island. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)Cindy Bickford looks over her home damaged in Pine Island. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk to people impacted by Hurricane Ian during a tour of the area on Wednesday in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)In this image taken through a window, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden take an aerial tour to view the storm-ravaged areas after Hurricane Ian on Marine One, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Fort Myers, Florida. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
Find out what's happening in Fort Myersfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
