Many deaths over Hurricane Ian preventable: NBC News

NEW YORK, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Ian killed at least 148 people in the U.S. state of Florida, most of them in coastal communities where the danger of storm surge is well documented but not widely understood, reported NBC News on Tuesday.

"Much of the catastrophic toll was foreseeable and preventable," according to an NBC News investigation.

"The late September storm exposed shortcomings in how local governments communicate the risk posed by hurricanes, decide when to order evacuations and identify and help the most vulnerable residents," said the report.

Ian also illustrated the challenge of protecting densely populated waterfront communities from extreme weather worsened by climate change, it said.

The investigation was based on a review of hundreds of death records, an examination of flood maps and interviews with survivors, victims' relatives, service providers, disaster preparedness experts and current and former public officials.