Ron DeSantis visits Bradenton Beach, talks sand complications and road repair

Continuing his tour of areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, Gov. Ron DeSantis is commenting on what was experienced in Manatee County.

While Southwest Florida is hundreds of miles away from Taylor County, where the Cat 4 storm made landfall Thursday night, storm surge ravaged this area of the state, and left impacts, particularly “all this sand” that needs to be hauled away.

The state will “store the sand,” and the Governor suggested it may be usable for “beach renourishment” in the future.

DeSantis noted there was “up to 5 feet” of sand in some places, complicating matters like power restoration, as “sand inhibits ability to access underground lines.”

That said, Florida Power and Light expects power to be back in “relatively short order.”

Standing in front of a road that was washed out, DeSantis said he hoped to “get this road fixed as soon as possible” within 5 days, saying that is “not going to be a permanent solution but I’d rather get this open.”

The Governor is optimistic about long-term recovery, meanwhile, saying that while “there’s a lot of damage, there’s no question you’ll be able to bounce back.”

In other news, the state has cleared 96% of the roadways blocked by the storm, over 12,000 miles of roadway in total.