Many of the Hurricane Ian deaths in Florida were of elderly people

Nearly 140 citizens of Florida have found their death due to Hurricane Ian, according to state medical examiner data.

The majority of those who died as a result of Hurricane Ian were over the age of 65.

About one-third of drowning incidents are a direct cause of death and the rest result from other causes like injuries, preexisting medical conditions and overdoing it.

The impact of the storm specifically on older people was horrible but not surprising.

Planning for the worst is inevitable, but a lot more people are turning to home-based care due to how much easier it is.

Seniors generally prefer to have aging happen at their homes and not in a more expensive long-term care facility.

It means that there are more people in the community who are now more vulnerable.

Those people are vulnerable since they are living alone without family or friends in the area and having health complications that could flare up during time of crisis, when emergency workers aren’t available, or after, when the stress and exertion of preparing for, living through and cleaning up after a hurricane can catch up.

The electric grid in Florida provides power for 181,000 people who rely on it to keep their medical equipment running.

There are about 7,000 of them who live in Lee County, which sustained the most damage because it was the first to be hit by Hurricane Ian.

10,000 more of them live in the area surrounding Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties, which also faced catastrophic flooding and wind damage.

Emergency management authorities typically point people with medical issues to public health shelters as an option for those who have no other place to go.

Accessing shelter can be difficult, but county governments are trying to help. To get into a shelter, you'll usually need to register first.

Lee County, which had about half of the senior citizen deaths due to hurricanes, advises applying in the early stages of hurricane season.

officials stop processing applications when the storm's forecast path puts them in the "cone of uncertainty" for the next five days.