Jesse Scheckner
President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida as Tropical Storm Helene began its approach toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, where heavy rainfall and storm surges are anticipated to endanger residents in the coming days.
Biden authorized federal agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to assist state, tribal and local response efforts.
The President’s Tuesday order said FEMA and DHS will “coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.”
Biden’s administration has committed to providing direct and reimbursed assistance, up to 75% of the state and local cost, for the mass care, evacuation and shelter of residents in Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties.
The federal government will also provide direct emergency protective measures, at 75% federal funding, for the counties of Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Escambia, Hamilton, Holmes, Marion, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Sumter, Union, Walton and Washington.
FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer John Brogan will coordinate federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Biden’s declaration comes hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a similar measure declaring a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, up from 41 on Monday.
By Tuesday afternoon — roughly two days and six hours before Helene is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 major hurricane after rapidly intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters — there were about 3,000 Florida National Guard troops on standby to assess post-storm damage and 150,000 flood-prevention devices deployed to at-risk areas.
“We prepare for the worst, we hope for the best, but we would rather be prepared and hope it does not intensify,” DeSantis said. “We are, of course, on full activation.”
Biden’s declaration also came a day after U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent the President a joint letter supporting DeSantis’ request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for the 41 counties.
“Ensuring that the state has access to the federal resources it needs is imperative to protecting Floridians, property, and our communities,” the letter said.
Forecasts show Tropical Storm Helene will make landfall in Florida’s Panhandle around 8 p.m. Thursday.
The projected storm path shows the weather system could rapidly become a significant threat to most of Florida’s west coast. The storm as it moves north is expected to reach tropical storm strength before the eye passes between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Major models all show the storm will head toward the Panhandle and become a Category 3 storm around 2 p.m. on Thursday while it is somewhere west of Tampa Bay.
___
Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics contributed to this report.
12 comments
ScienceBLVR
September 24, 2024 at 5:52 pm
Thanks, Joe! Of course we will take the Fed money this time. As long as it doesn’t go toward feeding children or expanding Medicaid, DeSantis will gladly grab it. Just the thing to ameliorate the crisis the Fl GOP has created with property insurance companies. Hmmm wonder if mine will go belly up after this round..
Bobblehead Kammy
September 24, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Joe has to be in bed by now.🤣
rick whitaker
September 24, 2024 at 8:23 pm
MAGA MARK, that ageism is showing again. do you disrespect your grand parents too.
Cat 5 Helene
September 25, 2024 at 6:29 am
The water of the Gulf is dark and deep, people in Florida got many nights, before they sleep sleep
nail
September 28, 2024 at 9:45 am
Aren’t you glad he is the only one with a head on straight other wise all the magat would be living in DeFascist tent…They should anyways because they are all the dumbest ppl on earth..
Rick Whitaker
September 28, 2024 at 9:51 am
Nail, i would say they ,maga cultist, are excedingly dumb. Just look at their leaders. Trump and desanpuss deserve eachother.
Cindy
September 24, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Flipping homes in fla is just bad business . The gods have spoken
Bobblehead Kammy
September 24, 2024 at 6:28 pm
Weather gods are on their way to wash Tennessee Rick away.🤣
rick whitaker
September 24, 2024 at 8:10 pm
MAGA MARK, my county, no wind, not a drop of water, sorry to disappoint. my florida properties, well, we’ll see. i have a manager, but florida is such a hell hole, i’m thinking of giving them to one of my kids. rental property ownership sucks.
rick whitaker
September 24, 2024 at 8:17 pm
MAGA MARK, my county, no wind, not a drop of water, sorry to disappoint. my florida properties, well, we’ll see. i have a manager, but florida is such a hell hole, i’m thinking of giving them to one of my kids. rental property ownership sucks. i’m hoping earl’s place gets a good battering at least. i hate that redneck bastard. i kind of know your location, but not the address. you let a lot of little clues out that you probably don’t even realize. anyway, i’m sure that since you are such a go getter, you’ll be able to get over it if you get wiped out. my mother lost her house twice in the ft. myers area. then she moved to tennessee to die.
nail
September 28, 2024 at 9:58 am
This is what defascist what’s, you have to treat the magats like the idiots they are and they like it better..
Homes in PBC dropped over 200% because of that asssholee and his red hatted idiots in Congress…The magats all have to be admitted to permanent insane asylums and left to die…
Their spawn thought they would leave them in FL to rot, but we need your ppl that they drove out…defascist is a retard, thought he would have the old idiots forever, but he went to far and now they are all in the Carolinas. No one will be in FLK again for the winter season…Billions more the magatards will have to pay unless we can get their ft ssses out on. the fields and pick the fruit and vegetable…$3 Billion Fl lost because he through out the immigrant he should have sent the manager out to wherever the hell the came from and left the immigrant s that did nothing but bring in money to the state…defascist and his moron scared the hell of these old idiots and mow they are hiding under their beds for nothing ,,
I hate them…trump has made them isolationist now after the election they will hav no one that deals with their retardness…
Rick Whitaker
September 29, 2024 at 7:48 pm
NAIL, your on it, keep it up.
Comments are closed.