DeSantis says Florida Isaias death toll reaches 6; thousands still without power

Florida’s death toll following Hurricane Isaias has risen to six, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday afternoon during a press conference in the Panhandle.

That’s up from two previously reported Florida deaths due to the storm that made landfall in Destin on Oct. 8.

Meanwhile, about 41,000 customers in the northwest Panhandle remained without power Tuesday at 7 p.m., according to poweroutage.com. 

The governor explained that one of the fatalities resulted from a car accident at an intersection where the traffic light was out. But he provided no additional details.

2 deaths reported in Florida after Hurricane Isaias moves through

The governor attributed two additional deaths to what he described as “health care interruptions” due to the storm.

In an Oct. 10 report, the Division of Emergency Management reported that seven healthcare facilities had to evacuate during the storm: four assisted living facilities, one hospital,  one nursing home, and one center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. According to the state report, 69 healthcare providers reported to the state they were having power shortages and  27 providers indicated they’d suffered damage.

No details were available about the other death.

The Florida Phoenix contacted the Florida Department of Emergency Management for additional information. DEM referred the question to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has not responded to the Phoenix’s request for additional information.

The first two deaths were confirmed by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. A spokesperson told the Phoenix Tuesday afternoon that it has only reported two deaths to the state.

The Phoenix made a public records request with the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Department, which had not responded to the Phoenix’s request by deadline.

DeSantis described the deaths as “post-storm,” but said that’s how Florida typically collects the data.

“It’s not just if the storm knocks over your house and somebody gets killed for that counts. They kind of link anything that’s even a fallout from the storm,” DeSantis said. ” So, I would say those four are a little bit more post-storm, attenuated from the storm.”

The governor said he was “sad to hear” the rising death toll but added, “At the same time, I mean, we’ve had some [storms] where there’ve been a lot more [deaths]. So, I think people did take precautions, and I think the local officials did a really good job of helping spread the word.”