Thousands of people in hurricane zone haven’t been located | Miami Herald

Thousands of people in hurricane zone haven’t been located | Miami Herald



TALLAHASSEE 

It’s Day 2 after Hurricane Michael made landfall, and search and rescue is still under way, state emergency officials said Friday morning — as more emphasis is beginning to shift to the “search.”

Thousands of people have been informally reported missing to local authorities, the Red Cross and the state, as people look for their friends and relatives. The Florida Panhandle is largely populated by small towns, spread out across dense, forested areas, which has only worsened post-disaster communications problems when cellphone towers and internet services go out. Locating people was a top priority for emergency crews on Friday.

Officials said they similarly received inquiries about thousands of people who were missing in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma last year as crews fanned out across the Keys to reduce that number.

However, Alan Harris, Seminole County Emergency Management Director, told the state Emergency Operations Center during its 8:30 a.m. briefing that so far, the state is standing down from setting up a temporary mortuary, a sign that mass casualties, at least for now, have not been found.