Ron DeSantis on X
CV NEWS FEED // Just a day and a half after Hurricane Milton, and two weeks after Hurricane Helene ravaged Florida, the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis gave an update on the various rescue, cleanup, and restoration efforts still underway.
“This morning, I visited St. Petersburg, which has weathered two major hurricanes—Helene and Milton—in the last two weeks,” DeSantis wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Friday:
Since Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast Wednesday night, search and rescue teams have worked around the clock to successfully execute life-saving missions here on the west coast, as well as in parts of central and southeast Florida impacted by flooding and tornadoes.
>> MILTON MAKES MARK AS DEADLY STORM BUT ‘WORST CASE SCENARIO’ AVERTED <<
DeSantis noted that as of Friday morning, “over 1600 people and over 140 pets have been rescued from floodwaters, rubble, or other hazards.”
“The Florida National Guard, Florida law enforcement, and state Urban Search and Rescue teams continue to work on hundreds of missions with 31 rescue aircraft, 500 high-wheeled tactical vehicles, and over a dozen boats,” DeSantis stated. “We are grateful for their selfless dedication to saving lives.”
The governor also reported that in one day “power has already been restored to 1.6 million households.”
“Thousands of linemen are working hard around the clock to restore the remaining 2.4 million accounts as soon as possible,” he added.
DeSantis highlighted that by Friday morning, crews from his administration’s Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) “have already cleared over 12,000 miles of state roads as of this morning.”
“Their mission is 96% complete,” he said:
Bridge inspectors have conducted nearly 2,000 bridge inspections across storm-affected areas. Thanks to their efforts, people who live and do business in areas hit by Hurricane Milton can return home safely and without excessive delays.
Later on Friday, DeSantis announced on X that he had visited Bradenton Beach. He wrote that the small Gulf Coast city – about 20 miles north of where Milton made landfall – “sustained extensive damage” from the storm “right on the heels of Hurricane Helene.”
“In the days after Helene, the state of Florida surged resources to Bradenton Beach to help clear debris and rebuild roadways that had been destroyed by the storm,” the governor recounted. “The same efforts are already underway to help this community recover from Milton, and we are here to support the people of Bradenton Beach for as long as it takes to rebuild.”
The governor also posted a picture of his visit to Manasota Key, just southeast of the site of Milton’s landfall, which he said “suffered storm surge and strong winds.”
“Portions of the main road on the island are unpassable,” DeSantis wrote on X Friday afternoon. “We have deployed Florida Highway Patrol with skid steers to help move sand off of the roadway, and will continue to fulfill emergency needs missions for Charlotte County.”
Rep. Greg Steube, R-FL, told FOX Business on Thursday that his state has “done a really good job of allocating resources,” noting that DeSantis had days earlier mobilized 50,000 electrical linemen in anticipation of the storm’s arrival
The congressman also praised Trump for allowing 275 of these linemen to stay for free at his Trump National Doral Miami resort in preparation for Milton.
Steube represents Siesta Key, the island community near where the then-Category 3 hurricane made landfall.
He also described that Milton hit his district particularly hard and said that he estimated around three-quarters-to-80% of his constituents were without power on Thursday morning. The storm even left many in the area he represents without cell service, he said.
“It’s going to take us longer to recover here,” he stated. “But … the state did a great job of staging those resources – 50,000 linemen – so that they would be ready to come as soon as possible.”
