Florida official claims Hurricane Ian death toll could be ‘in the hundreds,’ but DeSantis says ‘none of that is confirmed’

A Florida official reportedly said Thursday that the death toll from Hurricane Ian is “in the hundreds,” but Gov. Ron DeSantis has since said those numbers have not been confirmed.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno made the grim declaration during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” according to the Pensacola, Fla., news station WEAR-TV and other outlets.

ABC News’ live blog of Ian coverage referenced the interview with Marceno but didn’t include the “in the hundreds” comment, instead reporting that the county sheriff said there are fatalities but didn’t know the exact number.

“This is a life-changing event for all of us,” Marceno said, according to ABC. “We tracked that storm up the coast of Florida, it was very unpredictable.”

Boats are pushed up on a causeway after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Joe Raedle/)

DeSantis said regarding the death toll, “None of that is confirmed.”

“I think what that is is there were 911 calls for people saying, ‘Hey, the water is rising in my home. I’m gonna go up in the attic but I’m really worried.’ Of course those folks are now again to be going to be checked on, and so I think you’ll have more clarity about that in the next day or so,” he said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “We’re obviously hoping that they can be rescued at this point.”

Ian weakened to a tropical storm Thursday after making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday with winds exceeding 150 miles per hour. Its winds were around 60 miles per hour Thursday morning as Ian moved through the state’s central region.

Hurricane Ian weakens to tropical storm as it wreaks havoc across Florida

Wind gusts blow across Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on September 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. (Sean Rayford/)

The storm left devastating flooding and damage and caused power outages for more than 2.5 million homes and businesses in Florida.

President Biden has ordered federal aid to support Florida’s recovering after deeming the storm a major disaster.

Forecasts project Ian to move toward coastal South Carolina overnight, with meteorologists warning the storm could come close to hurricane-strength again.