Being one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, Florida Medical Examiners Commission reported 102 Hurricane Ian-related deaths statewide on Monday, with the majority located in the state’s southwest. It hit coast as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on September 26, wreaking a scale of havoc never seen before in the country.
Another five people died in North Carolina, the state’s governor has previously reported. After making landfall, Ian passed over Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean before heading ashore again, this time on the South Carolina coast.
Officials have estimated that rebuilding devastated coastal zones will cost approximately $50 billion, an effort that is expected to take months.

Last week, US President Joe Biden met with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to assess the devastation from Hurricane Ian, and stressed the need for a united federal and state effort for the lengthy recovery ahead. “The key here is building back better and stronger to withstand the next storm. We can’t build back to what it was before. You got to build back better, because we know more is coming,” Biden said.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the US Gulf Coast, devastating New Orleans and killing around 1,400 people and causing billions of dollars in damage. Since then, deadly superstorm Sandy battered the country’s northeast in 2012, leaving a trail of destruction and some 233 deaths.

Irma in 2017 caused some 120 hurricane-related fatalities when it struck the US Southeast, shortly after Hurricane Harvey buffeted Texas, killing dozens and causing nearly $97 billion in damages.