‘People become complacent, saying it’s not going to hit us…this one did’: Florida sheriff says thousands of local residents IGNORED evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Ian, with hundreds now feared dead
- Residents of Charlotte County, Florida in evacuation zones were given at least 48 hours of warning to leave their homes before Ian hit
- About 120,000 people in Charlotte County were ordered to evacuate
- Officials are not speculating on the number of fatalities, but deaths could be in the hundreds
- Charlotte County remains under a curfew order
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said that thousands of Floridians ignored evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Ian after becoming ‘complacent’ about storm warnings.
Prummell spoke to the Fox & Friends hosts Thursday morning about the severe damage that the hurricane brought to Charlotte County, Florida – located just about Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers, where the storm hit hardest.
‘Right now, Charlotte County is just going to need a lot of support and a lot of prayers,’ said Prummell, who would not speculate on the potential number of fatalities caused by the storm.
‘I believe a lot of people did stay behind. Here in Florida, we watch these hurricanes come and go every year and they always go by us and miss us and people become complacent, saying it’s not going to happen here, it’s not going to hit us. And this one did… We haven’t had a hurricane since 2004 when Charley came through and Charley was devastating. This one was even worse,’ he said.
Prummell refused to be drawn on a possible death toll, after an earlier warning that hundreds may have died across the Sunshine State. So far, the death toll stands at six.
About two-thirds of Charlotte County – roughly 120,000 people – was put under mandatory evacuation orders at least 48-hours prior to the storm hitting, including a handful of barrier islands that were ravaged by the storm.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has also instituted a 9.00pm-6.00am curfew until further notice. Violation of the curfew could result in a misdemeanor charge.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell tells Fox & Friends that some Floridians in evacuation zones became ‘complacent’
Pictured Thursday morning: Flood damage caused by Hurricane Ian in Port Charlotte, Florida
https://youtube.com/watch?v=a7btqo33TaQ%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
‘I believe a lot of people did stay behind. Here in Florida, we watch these hurricanes come and go every year and they always go by us and miss us and people become complacent, saying it’s not going to happen here, it’s not going to hit us. And this one did,’ Pullman told Brian Kilmeade
Residents of Charlotte County were given at least 48 hours to leave under mandatory evacuation orders
Charlotte County residents were warned of the severity of the storm online, on TV and radio, and via repeated announcement from local government offices sent to phones.
Storm shelters were opened Tuesday morning for those who cannot evacuate.
Rideshare giant Uber also offered free $30 rides to hurricane shelters in Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee Counties.
Some Floridians in evacuation zones chose not to evacuate for a variety of reasons, including storm fatigue – every year Floridians are issued warnings during hurricane season, only sometimes are the storms as severe as they were told.
Search and rescue efforts are already underway in both Charlotte and Lee counties.
Residents and officials will soon begin the arduous rebuilding process that, for some, will involve securing insurance claims on homes, offices, and vehicles.
‘We’ve requested a lot of assets to come in from the state. We actually already have a federal search and rescue team. And so we are combining our search and rescue teams with theirs, and we’re starting to hit the road,’ said Prummell.
‘We got people that are stranded in their vehicles in the water. We got people who are trapped in their homes. Our air unit is up right now getting our eyes in the sky to try and get an overall assessment of the county. And they are reporting back to people on their roofs. So we’re working with our search and rescue teams and trying to get into those areas.’
Pictured Thursday morning: A National Guard vehicle patrolling HWY 41 in Charlotte County, Florida
Pictured Thursday morning: Flooding caused by Hurricane Ian in Port Charlotte, Florida
About two-thirds of the Charlotte County population were ordered to evacuate in the 48 hours before Ian hit
Hundreds of people in Florida are feared dead, as 50 National Guard helicopters are starting the search and rescue for thousands who are stranded or missing in the aftermath of the catastrophic water damage and 155mph winds.
The better part of 2.7 million Floridians remain without power, and many without cell phone service on Thursday.
Lee County’s Sheriff raised fears it was one of the worst natural disasters since Katrina with hundreds dead, but he later tempered his comments after DeSantis and FEMA insisted the death toll is not known.
Thousands are also trapped on their homes and some were forced on to their roofs to escape rising floodwater that swallowed two-story homes.
Horrifying footage shows flames and black smoke coiling into the sky in Fort Myers as homes were suddenly being engulfed by the blaze.
Ian is set to unleash more devastation as it whips up sea water in the Atlantic before targeting South Carolina after battering Florida this morning and overnight.
The monster tempest is expected to recharge from a tropical storm back into a Category 1 hurricane as it angles northwards towards the top of the Sunshine State, the south of Georgia and South Carolina.
The region is also braced for more storm surges that could see huge quantities of water dumped on major cities such as Jacksonville, Savannah and Charlotte.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=UEoMk-n87yY%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Unprecedented flooding hit Port Charlotte, Florida during Hurricane Ian, which Ron DeSantis called a ‘500-year flood event’
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