FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Rescuers evacuated stunned survivors on a large barrier island cut off by Hurricane Ian and Florida’s death toll climbed sharply, as hundreds of thousands of people were still sweltering without power days after the monster storm rampaged from the state’s southwestern coast up to the Carolinas.
Florida, with more than four dozen reported dead, was hit hardest by the Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest to make landfall in the United States. Flooded roadways and washed-out bridges to barrier islands left many people isolated, amid limited cellphone service and a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity and the internet.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday that multibillionaire businessman Elon Musk was providing some 120 Starlink satellites to “help bridge some of the communication issues.” Starlink, a satellite-based internet system created by Musk’s SpaceX, will provide high-speed connectivity.
Florida utilities were working to restore power. As of Saturday night, nearly 1 million homes and businesses were still without electricity, down from a peak of 2.67 million.
At least 65 people were confirmed dead: 58 in Florida, four in North Carolina and three in Cuba.
More than 1,000 people were rescued from flooded areas along Florida’s southwestern coast alone, Daniel Hokanson, a four-star general and head of the National Guard, told The Associated Press while airborne to Florida.
In Washington, the White House announced that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden would travel to Florida on Wednesday. But a brief statement did not release any details of the planned visit to the state.
Water floods a damaged trailer park in Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, after Hurricane Ian passed by the area. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) 
Physician Karen Calkins tends to Mona Guibord, 94, as she waits to be evacuated from Pine Island, Fla., in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. The only bridge to the island is heavily damaged so it can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
CORRECTS FIRST NAME TO BRIA, INSTEAD OF MARIA – Members of mediccorps.org help evacuate Bria Acerbo in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Pine Island, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. The group arrived on the island with two helicopters, paramedics and volunteers, as the only bridge to the island is heavily damaged so the only access is by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Dirk Russell, who has medical issues, lies on the sofa in his waterlogged home that flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Pine Island, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. The only bridge to the island is heavily damaged so it can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Members of mediccorps.org search a home in Pine Island, Fla., whose resident was known to have stayed behind when Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida but has not been heard from since, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Paramedics and volunteers with mediccorps.org arrived on the island with two helicopters as the only bridge to get there was heavily damaged so access is limited to boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Helen Koch, a dog breeder, is evacuated with some of her 17 dogs on a helicopter for mediccorps.org, who arrived with two helicopters, paramedics and volunteers, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Pine Island, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. The only bridge to the island is heavily damaged so it can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
The bridge leading from Fort Myers to Pine Island, Fla., is seen heavily damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Pine Island, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Due to the damage, the island can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
The bridge leading from Fort Myers to Pine Island, Fla., is heavily damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Due to the damage, the island can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
The bridge leading from Fort Myers to Pine Island, Fla., is seen heavily damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Pine Island, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Due to the damage, the island can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Amanda Webster, a resident of Pine Island who evacuated and since returned to retrieve belongings, sits and waits for a boat to take her off the island, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian on Pine Island, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. The only bridge to the island is heavily damaged so it can only be reached by boat or air. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Heide Haydu hugs a friend as they part ways after evacuating from Estero Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, three days after Hurricane Ian bore down on the barrier island. Haydu lives in the region and was staying at a beachfront resort with her husband on Estero Island when the storm hit. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Thomas Fischer waits for a ride with belongings recovered from his ruined home after evacuating from Estero Island, on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, three days after the passage of Hurricane Ian. Fischer said he and his family rode out the storm in their home’s attic and had to punch a hole through the roof to get out after it filled with water. In the immediate aftermath, Fischer helped rescue elderly neighbors and recover the body of one neighbor who did not survive. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
People line up to receive a hot meal from popular Miami food trucks brought in by the non-profit World Central Kitchen, which funds locally-sourced hot meals for people in disaster zones, in Cape Coral, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, three days after the passage of Hurricane Ian. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Cars navigate an intersection with no working traffic lights, a common sight as many areas remain without power three days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in south Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
A child runs under a fallen tree from the effects from Hurricane Ian, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
Furniture and personal items lie jumbled in the living room of Nita Ross, 79, as she returns to her mobile home for the first time since the passage of Hurricane Ian, at the Sunshine Mobile Home Park in Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Ross’ home stayed on its foundations, unlike those of some of her neighbors, but storm flooding almost to the height of the ceiling destroyed most of her possessions and household items. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Jose Cruz, 13, carries an empty Jerrycan through receding flood waters outside his house as his family heads out to look for supplies, three days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Members of the US Army National Guard load supplies into the back of a pick-up at a drive-through distribution point handing out food, water, and ice to local residents in need, three days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Tony Rivera carries items recovered from his family’s waterlogged car through receding flood waters still filling a street in the Harlem Heights neighborhood, three days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
This is an aerial view of a damaged trailer park after Hurricane Ian passed by the area Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The bridge to Pine Island, the largest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, was destroyed by the storm, leaving it accessible only by boat or air. The volunteer group Medic Corps, which responds to natural disasters worldwide with pilots, paramedics and doctors, went door-to-door asking residents if they wanted to be evacuated.
Some flew out by helicopter, and people described the horror of being trapped in their homes as water kept rising.
“The water just kept pounding the house and we watched, boats, houses — we watched everything just go flying by,” Joe Conforti said, fighting back tears. He said if it wasn’t for his wife, who suggested they get up on a table to avoid the rising water, he wouldn’t have made it: “I started to lose sensibility because when the water’s at your door and it’s splashing on the door and you’re seeing how fast it’s moving, there’s no way you’re going to survive that.”
River flooding posed a major challenge at times to rescue and supply delivery efforts. The Myakka River washed over a stretch of Interstate 75, forcing a traffic-snarling highway closure for a while before officials said later Saturday that it could be reopened.
While swollen rivers have crested or are near cresting, the levels aren’t expected to drop significantly for days, National Weather Service meteorologist Tyler Fleming said.
Elsewhere, South Carolina’s Pawleys Island, a beach community roughly 75 miles (115 kilometers) up the coast from Charleston, was also hit hard. Power remained knocked out to at least half the island Saturday.
Eddie Wilder, who has been coming to Pawleys Island for more than six decades, said it was “insane” to see waves as high as 25 feet wash away a landmark pier near his home.
“We watched it hit the pier and saw the pier disappear,” he said. “We watched it crumble and watched it float by with an American flag.”
Wilder’s house, located 30 feet above the shoreline, stayed dry inside.
In North Carolina, the storm downed trees and power lines. Two of the four deaths in the state were from storm-related vehicle crashes, and the others involved a man who drowned when his truck plunged into a swamp and another killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator in a garage.
At Port Sanibel Marina in Fort Myers, Florida, the storm surge pushed several boats and a dock onshore.
Charter captain Ryan Kane said his vessel was so badly damaged that he was unable to use it to help rescue people, and now it will be a long time before he can take clients fishing again.
“There’s a hole in the hull. It took water in the motors. It took water in everything,” he said, adding: “You know, boats are supposed to be in the water, not in parking lots.