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Hurricane Ian landed in Floridatook over a million people from power and left massive destruction in its wake.
of Category 4 Storm The storm slammed into southwest Florida Wednesday afternoon after residents of Sunshine State spent days preparing for it. Residents who choose to stay in their homes rather than evacuate could be stranded for days.
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis It warned that the 200,000 blackouts that hit the state before Hurricane Ian made landfall were “a drop in the bucket of what’s to come.”
Hurricane Ian makes landfall in southwest Florida
DeSantis’ words were prescient, as power outages spiked later in the day.
To soften the economic impact of hurricanes, DeSantis asked: President Biden Approve a 60-day disaster declaration and 100% liability for the effects of Hurricane Ian. The governor’s request opens a federal aid program for residents and funds to help repair infrastructure damaged by the storm.
Between white house press conference On Wednesday afternoon, spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre said Florida and its residents “will do the best the federal government can.”
Jean-Pierre told reporters that in addition to Florida’s 1,300 federal response personnel, resources have been set up in neighboring states. In Alabama, he has 3.7 million meals and he has 3.5 million liters of water for Floridians.
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The federal government has also collected 110,000 gallons of fuel and 18,000 pounds of propane gas and deployed 300 Army units to coordinate the distribution of fuel, Jean-Pierre said.
Hurricane Ian continues to grow in strength, potentially reaching Category 5 levels, but now stands as the fourth most violent landfalling storm in the state’s history.
Fox News’ Julia Musto and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.