UPDATE: Authorities have now upped the death toll from Hurricane Ian to more than 77, with an estimated 1,100 people rescued from flooding. Rescue efforts are ongoing, and officials warned that the death totals could rise as floodwaters recede in places littered with wrecked homes.
EARLIER: Florida continued the grim task of digging out from Hurricane Ian today, as authorities surveyed the damage and death totals from the devastating storm.
Officials said Saturday morning that they expect the death count to top 50 people.
Of the 31 people confirmed dead, 27 were from Florida. Four people died in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday. Ian headed northw Saturday across central North Carolina, now considerd a tropical cyclone. It was heading toward Virginia after hitting the coast of South Carolina.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, who oversees badly damaged Fort Myers, said the number of confirmed deaths reached 35 in his jurisdiction alone. Marceno said more than 600 stranded survivors were rescued from their homes so far.
Elsewhere in the state, things were starting to return to normal.
After being closed for three days due to Hurricane Ian, Universal Orlando Resort theme parks returned to normal operations today. Its “Halloween Horror Nights” will be open tonight.
Disney reopened its Walt Disney World theme park and Disney Springs shopping area in Orlando, Florida, on Friday in a “phased approach.” As of today, all four Walt Disney World theme parks are now open.
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park will reopen on Sunday, Oct. 2. Winter Summerland Miniature Golf and Fairways Miniature Golf will remain temporarily closed at this time. Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park is currently closed for the season.
The National Football League has scrapped its contingency plans to move Sunday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Minnesota. The game will continue to be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as originally scheduled.
The NFL had selected U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis as a contingency site for the game after the Bucs had evacuated the area because of Hurricane Ian.