The storm, Florida’s deadliest since 1935, has been linked to the deaths of at least 119 people in the state, many of them older residents who lived near the coast.
Hurricane Ian inflicted its worst damage across several deeply Republican counties, where many voters express hostility toward President Biden and the federal government in general.
A day of hesitation in Lee County came despite warnings that the Fort Myers and Cape Coral area could see mass flooding. Now authorities are encountering mass death.