Flooding, outages, confusion: Florida reels as Hurricane Ian death toll rises

Florida has mobilized more than 5,200 troops from its national guard. Operating from airboats and helicopters, those troops, the US Coast Guard and local fire, police and search-and-rescue agencies have been scouring afflicted areas for survivors, though their efforts have been slowed by lack of electricity, cellphone service and infrastructure.

After cutting a swath of destruction through Cuba, Hurricane Ian made landfall in south-west Florida last Wednesday, 28 September, as a potent category 4 storm. Thousands of Floridians evacuated or sought refuge in emergency shelters.

Power line repair workers are laboring around the clock to restore electricity to the hundreds of thousands of homes that are without service. A utility official has said it could be weeks or months before parts of the state are back on the grid.

Local fire and police officials have also expressed trepidation about looting or violence, though so far there have not been any significant outbreaks of lawlessness.

Climate scientists have concluded that global heating has strengthened storms, which feed on warm ocean water. Since 1980 there have been an increasing number of powerful category 4 and category 5 storms, the New York Times has reported.