MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the death toll from Hurricane Irma’s catastrophic rampage across the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S. has risen to 44 fatalities directly caused by its strong winds and heavy rains.
An additional 85 fatalities were indirectly linked to the storm. The updated accounting came in a report released Monday.
Eighty deaths indirectly linked to the hurricane came in Florida. They were caused by falls during storm preparations, vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning from generators, chain saw accidents and electrocutions.
Fourteen people who died at a nursing home that lost power were included in the hurricane center’s tally of indirect deaths in Florida. In an email Monday, officials with Florida’s Division of Emergency Management said they had counted 11 deaths at the nursing home among 84 storm-related deaths in the state.
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