Hurricane Ian update from Lee County: Search-and-rescue efforts shift to search-and-recovery operations
Lee County Government and its public-safety partners announced today that search-and-rescue efforts will shift to search-and-recovery operations beginning Sunday.
This means that the 11 federal and six state Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams deployed to Lee County immediately following Hurricane Ian will be demobilizing during the next few days.
Local public safety agencies will shift operations to recovery of human remains.
The public should not enter unsafe hurricane-damaged structures, particularly in hard-hit of Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, portions of Cape Coral and additional coastal areas.
Law enforcement requests that anyone who encounters human remains leave them as they are and immediately call 9-1-1.
Distant friends and family who still are searching for loved ones they have lost contact with can use the Emergency Services Request Form from the Florida Division of Emergency Management to request help. Local residents also can use the form to ask for help. Go to https://missing.fl.gov/es for the form.
“This is challenging news to convey to our community as we still grapple with this Category 4 storm that caused so much damage here, but shifting operations like this is part of the process and is a step toward our recovery,” said Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, who is chairman of the Lee Board of County Commissioners.
Hurricane Ian recovery updates and resources can be found from Lee County government on Hurricane Ian by following @Lee County Government on Facebook, www.facebook.com/leecountyflbocc.
More information is available at www.leegov.com/storm.