Half Of Hurricane Ian's Death Toll In Florida Is From Drowning

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Half of the deaths connected to Hurricane Ian in Florida so far involve drowning, according to numbers from the state Medical Examiners Commission.

T​he latest list, provided Thursday, shows the causes of death for 112 of Ian's victims in Florida. At least 57 are blamed on drowning and another three are suspected drownings. The data doesn't specify whether the drownings occurred due to storm surge, rainfall flooding or other water.

O​ther causes of death include vehicle crashes, medical emergencies and falls. Four people killed themselves, all noting losses of their homes or belongings due to the storm.

(MORE: Ian Leaves Behind Dangerous Contaminants)

About half of the drowning victims were in Southwest Florida's Lee County, where Ian made landfall and storm surge filled the first floors of buildings to the top in places like Ft. Myers Beach. Surveys since the storm have measured water as high as 15.5 feet inside buildings. There was also inland flooding there and in several counties around the state.

All the victims listed were adults. M​any were elderly. The oldest was a 96-year-old man found in Charlotte County, to the north of Fort Myers. He was one of three drowning victims of the storm statewide who was 90 or older, according to the medical examiners' data. More than one-third were over the age of 70.

B​ob Henson, a meteorologist and writer at Yale Climate Connections, recently analyzed hurricane-related deaths and found that, overall, only about 3% are caused by storm surge flooding over the last few hurricane seasons.

I​n Southwest Florida, the percentage from Ian could be much higher.

"The surge was exceptionally broad, both geographically and in terms of affecting large swaths of population," Henson said in an interview Thursday. "Ian was a large storm and strong so it pushed a great amount of surge inland.”

L​ee County is home to about 788,000 people, according to the latest U.S Census Bureau count. Its population has expanded by more than 25% in the past decade. Last year, it was the 9th fastest-growing county in the nation and is one of Florida's most populated counties.

(MORE: Hurricane Ian Lands Final Blow To Architectural Icon In Florida)

The deaths officially counted so far by the state stretch across more than a dozen counties and include those that are both direct and indirect. Direct deaths happen during a storm and are caused by the weather. Those include storm surge, falling trees and building collapses. Indirect deaths happen before, during or after and can be caused by a number of factors. Some of the more common are carbon monoxide poisoning from generator use, heat-related illness and injuries during storm cleanup.

Lee County has the highest number of deaths from any cause related to Ian so far, with the state counting 55.

Five drowning deaths were reported in V​olusia County, even though it's on Florida's Atlantic Coast more than 200 miles northeast of where Ian came ashore in Lee. Between 12 and 21 inches of rain fell on parts of Volusia, which includes the towns of Daytona and Daytona Beach.

T​he final numbers from Ian remain to be seen, and it will depend on who's counting. Different agencies, including medical examiners and the National Hurricane Center, tally storm deaths in different ways.

T​he deadliest storm ever recorded in Florida was the 1928 Lake Okeechobee hurricane with a death toll of 2,500. Hurricane Ian's numbers aren't likely to approach that, thanks to better forecasting technology and ways of communicating with people, according to weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles.

"Truly horrific hurricane death tolls will be more rare in the decades to come as these technologies allow us to alert people to dangerous weather better," Belles said." "What will increase is the amount of damage these hurricanes do as people continue to flock to our coastlines where water is rising."

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