At least half of all deaths recorded in Florida were in Lee County, where officials reportedly delayed evacuation efforts.
Officials in Florida's Lee County, the area considered to be the worst hit by Hurricane Ian in the entire state, reportedly delayed efforts to evacuate people from at-risk zones in time, even as warnings from forecasters grew more urgent.
On Monday, most officials along the coastline of Florida issued orders to evacuate their counties as weather forecasters announced that the hurricane was predicted to grow in strength, make landfall in the state and cause likely storm surges. But Lee County officials failed to do the same, waiting instead to see how the weather forecast evolved, investigations byCriticism has mounted over Lee County's officials response to the storm.
"That long-delayed evacuation of a high-risk area seemed troubling and suspicious... and it was. The forecasts were good, but the response to them was botched, with deadly consequences," McNoldy wrote on"We know that the county officials didn't obey their own evacuation protocols when it comes to storm surge threat," McNoldy told"The threat was very well-known, real, and severe...
That long-delayed evacuation of a high-risk area seemed troubling and suspicious... and it was. The forecasts were good, but the response to them was botched, with deadly consequences.
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