FLORIDA, USA — In a press conference on Thursday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Urban Search and Rescue Team 2 (USAR) and the U.S. Coast Guard made dozens of rescues overnight.
DeSantis said since 2 a.m. crews have been performing searches and rescues. The Governor's Office said there are eight USAR teams with more than 800 team members helping with the operation.
The National Guard and the Coast Guard are landing helicopters on the barrier island to perform search and rescues, the governor's office said.
Throughout Thursday, the Florida National Guard has been conducting incident awareness and assessment missions in Sarasota, De Soto, Charlotte, Collier and Lee Counties.
Gov. DeSantis authorized a total of 5,000 Florida Guardsmen to the State Active Duty for Hurricane Ian response opener. Almost 2,000 Guardsmen from neighboring states have also been active assisting with hurricane help.
There has been no deaths reported from Hurricane Ian at this time, but it's still early in search and rescue efforts.
The total number of people rescued due to the storm has not been released.
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday causing damage throughout Florida. The Fort Myers area saw some of the worst damage in Florida. People on the internet have shared videos and pictures of when Ian made landfall. Those pictures and photos show water flooding the city, homes, and parking garages.
Here in the Tampa Bay area, the community saw partial floodings, trees down, and debris.
Country officials announced that crews are actively working to clean up the roadways and debris. There were no reported injuries from Ian in the Tampa Bay area.
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