Florida is working hard to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, which struck the state as a dangerous major hurricane. Governor Ron DeSantis has been leading the restoration efforts and provided an update on the situation during a news conference in Steinhatchee.
According to DeSantis, power has been restored to 2.32 million customers in Florida, but there are still 87,000 customers waiting for restoration. In addition to power restoration, crews have cleared tens of thousands of miles of roadway and inspected all state-owned bridges to ensure they are safe for use.
The state’s emergency response team has been on the ground conducting nearly 1,000 missions, with plans for an additional 1,500 missions. DeSantis emphasized the massive effort required for the recovery process, highlighting the scale of the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
The hurricane made landfall as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds in Florida’s Big Bend region before moving through Georgia and causing flooding in the Carolinas and Tennessee. Many homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, leading the state to set up recovery shelters for residents and provide travel trailers for those whose homes are uninhabitable.
DeSantis also mentioned that an executive order has been signed to allow businesses to resume normal operations while they work on rebuilding. Despite the challenges faced by the state, DeSantis assured that Florida has the situation under control and urged the federal government to focus its efforts on North Carolina, where active rescues are still ongoing.
President Joe Biden reached out to DeSantis to offer assistance, but the governor was unable to take the call as he was surveying the damage in the affected areas. DeSantis expressed his commitment to sending rescue teams to North Carolina, particularly to help Floridians with second homes in the region who are in need of assistance.
The recovery efforts in Florida and the support extended to neighboring states demonstrate the solidarity and resilience of the community in the face of natural disasters. With continued collaboration and assistance, the affected areas will be able to rebuild and recover from the impact of Hurricane Helene.