Linda Hanshaw said the tight-knit island community is amazing and "everyone I know who hasn't left is trying to leave."īut that wasn't true for everyone. But others were anxious to get off the island. Some declined the offer for now and asked for another day to pack their things. Some shed tears as Medic Corps volunteers came to their doors and asked if they wanted to be evacuated. Some residents said they hadn't seen anyone from outside the island for days. There was no sign of the woman, raising fears that she had been sucked out of her home by the storm surge. Inside the woman's house, heavy furniture had been toppled over and her belongings were tossed about. Medic Corps volunteers went to one house to search for a woman who was known to have stayed behind during the storm and has had no contact with her friends since. He told The Associated Press that days earlier, he didn't think they would make it, as the major hurricane raged and the house began taking on water. Her husband, Paul Koch, stayed behind with the other dogs, and planned to leave the isolated island on a second trip. The dogs were in cages, strapped to the outside of the helicopter as it took off. Helen Koch blew her husband a kiss and mouthed the words "I love you" as she sat inside the Medic Corps group's helicopter that lifted her and seven of the couple's 17 dogs to safety from the decimated island Saturday. Ian has also been determined to be responsible for at least four deaths in North Carolina. Of those 73 victims, 35 were in Lee County. However, after contacting local sheriffs' offices, CBS News found that the number of deaths attributed directly or indirectly to the hurricane was at least 73. A community of mobile homes was destroyed.Īs of late Saturday evening, the official statewide death toll from Ian stood at 24. The island has no power, and no running water - save for a few hours on Friday when one resident said they were able to take a shower. Houses have been reduced to splinters and boats have been tossed onto roadways.
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