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Ron Phelps of Wilmington was scraped his leg and it was infected, which prompted the doctors to amputate it, the resort reported. But that was not enough to save him.
The Phelps family informed community members about his illness via a Facebook page with nearly 9,000 subscribers on which he would share photos and memories of the hometown he knew, reported WECT.
His niece finally announced his death. "I sadly need to tell you that Uncle Ronnie died quietly this morning, and he loved to be friends with each of you," said Paula Phelps Turner.
North Carolina has recorded 37 deaths related to Hurricane Florence, according to a statement released Thursday by Governor Roy Cooper's office. Most of them were due to vehicles caught in the floodwater, but some were related to cleaning.
At least eight deaths in South Carolina and three in Virginia were also associated with the storm.
"We have seen bacterial infections caused by cuts and scrapes" among cleaners, said David Howard, assistant director of public health for New Hanover County, where Wilmington is located.
"It's really a common bacterial infection in the environment that ends up in the floodwaters that people are not normally exposed to in large quantities," he said.
The New Hanover Regional Medical Center said in an email that it has seen people complaining of insect bites, lacerations and bites, home oxygen problems, dialysis, and stress-related problems. and anxiety.
Dr. De Winter, an emergency physician at the hospital, told WECT: "We have witnessed many heat-related illnesses, such as people working outside for long hours, tired then potentially fallen from the roofs. "
People with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly, are particularly vulnerable to bacterial infections, Howard said. The health department has been administering tetanus toxoid vaccines to some people involved in the cleanup efforts, who may also be at higher risk.
The authorities have warned residents to stay out of the water to avoid harmful bacteria and other infections. Officials from North and South Carolina have also warned of risks such as mosquitoes, mold and snakes following the storm, which landed on September 14 near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina .
"The public continues to swim in the ocean and make sounds despite these warnings," said Todd Miller, executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation.
Cooper's office has documented other causes of hurricane-related deaths such as suicides, drownings, falls, and injuries related to cleanup efforts, such as a tree that fell on a man while that he was cleaning debris.
Two of North Carolina's largest industries, hog farming and coal-fired power generation, also create health risks for residents. The overflow pits of hog farms contain bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli, while the coal ash contains heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic.
Wilma Subra, a chemist and environmental health specialist in Louisiana, has already told CNN that residents should be concerned about the contamination of their gardens and homes. She advised people to use protective equipment when cleaning, as even health threats common in other hurricanes, such as exposure to sewage, could be a problem.
"That's what happened after Katrina, they went back and had boils" following exposure to sewage, Subra said.
CNN's Michael Nedelman and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.
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