TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

Did Lee County’s Evacuation Delay Lead to Deaths?

While Florida officials warned people to evacuate Monday, Lee County decided to wait out the night before making a decision.

In the 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday morning, Hurricane Ian’s storm path shifted dramatically—pushing the eye of the storm directly over Lee County, home to Fort Myers and Cape Coral. In that period, county officials decided to delay a decision as to whether or not to tell residents to leave, contradicting official plans for such a major weather event, The New York Times reported. The question now is whether that decision was a deadly one, with Lee County tallying 16 storm-related fatalities so far. The decision to hold back the announcement left residents struggling, with just one day to evacuate the area ahead of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the sunshine state.