DeSantis Addresses Florida After Hurricane – Gives Update On ‘500-Year Flood Event’

Matt Johnson https://commons.wikimedia.org

After Hurricane Ian battered the coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed the state, giving a assessment of what he described as a “500-year event.”

Appearing at a Thursday morning press briefing, DeSantis said the governor’s office has been working with hospitals and emergency services who were experiencing power outages. This effort also required moving personnel and patients to safer facilities.

He noted the state is suffering 2.5 million power outages, with more anticipated to occur throughout the coming days. He noted how Lee County was “basically off the grid,” adding other widespread infrastructures have been damaged during the storm.

He went on to note how over 100 engineers have been inspecting the states many bridges. And, reports of possible structural damages have been reported.

DeSantis described the significant impact flooding has had on his state, calling it “historic.” He said, “The impacts of this storm are historic. But, I think we’ve never seen a flood event like this. And it’s going to end up doing extensive damage to a lot of peoples’ homes.”

Hurricane Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm. However the devastation left in its wake will be felt for weeks and months to come.

During a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis thanked other state Governors who had sent help to Florida preceding the storm. He said, “I want to thank the 26 states that have sent us support, including Tennessee, Virginia, Montana, New York, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, and Georgia. I just spoke with Kay Ivy from Alabama and she’s supporting, sending some Blackhawk helicopters down to help. Governor Bill Lee in Tennessee fast-tracked the request that we had from Tennessee. We appreciate that.”

He continued by saying, “I was also just able to speak with John Bel Edwards from Louisiana. They’ve helped us, but he said, ‘hey, we’ve got a lot of experience in hurricanes recently so these guys are good, ask us, we want to send more,’ and so we really appreciate that consideration.”