Ron DeSantis urges Floridians to prepare for a major hurricane again and hold steady

The state of emergency in advance of Tropical Storm Milton declared Saturday by Gov. Ron DeSantis and covered about 35 Florida counties was expanded to cover 54 counties as of Sunday.

DeSantis held a news conference in Tallahassee and urged Floridians to go through the preparations for the impending storm which could hit the Gulf Coast near Tampa Wednesday heading into Thursday. DeSantis said it’s a little bit of a repeat of preparing after the state is still digging out from  Hurricane Helene which slammed Florida’s Big Bend area Sept. 26.

He urged residents of the entire Gulf Coast of Florida to begin preparations and evacuation routes. Milton, which could evolve into a Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall, is going to be a major challenge for many communities that just endured Helene.

“For these communities that have already been hit, it’s not easy,” DeSantis said. “But we’ll get through it.”

Milton was a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph about 860 miles west, southwest of Tampa. But DeSantis said the  National Hurricane Center forecast cone engulfs most of the West Coast of Florida.

“Stay safe on this, you do have time to prepare… . But this could be a potential major hurricane,” he said. “Don’t get wedded to where the landfall is predicted right now” as Milton could shift to varying degrees.

“Its going to go across the state and likely have hurricane force winds as it goes into the Atlantic,” he said.

Meanwhile, the clean up from Hurricane Helene has been ongoing for much of the Gulf Coast of Florida since Sept. 26. DeSantis said despite rumors, state officials are continuing those debris cleanup operations and with Milton approaching, they’ll continue those debris removal and site collections 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“It’s important for all of our local counties to continue debris removal,” DeSanis said.

The Governor acknowledged having yet another major hurricane slam Florida about two weeks after Helene is a bitter pill to swallow for Floridians. But he encourages residents of the state to brace for getting through a major challenge.

“Residents get fatigued by this,” DeSantis said. “So, that is a very trying time. You get through that and you’re resilient… . I just think from an emotional perspective, I think it’s tough.

“From an operational perspective, we just sort of assumed that this would happen,” DeSantis said. “In terms of preparation, we’re doing the same as we would do in any situation.”