A.G. Gancarski
The absolute worst case scenario appears to be unfolding.
Cat 3 Hurricane Milton is making landfall into Sarasota County near the Tampa metropolitan area with serious impacts to the south and the north, and Florida’s Governor is taking stock of one of the most brutal hurricanes in the state’s history as the eyewall grinds into a heavily-populated, low-lying area prone to floods during normal times.
And these aren’t normal times.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday evening, as a long, dark, and treacherous night began on the peninsula, that the storm surges up to 13 feet on the Gulf Coast had just begun, with 116 tornado warnings, 19 confirmed touchdowns, 9 flash flood warnings, “with many, many more to come.”
“The storm is here,” the Governor said from Tallahassee Wednesday evening.
As he had before the storm, he projected confidence in pre-deployed resources, including gasoline headed to stations, inspections at the ready for bridges, “massive amounts” of search and rescue personnel standing by, 50,000 linemen in the state at the ready, and 9,000 National Guardsmen supplementing law enforcement.
“We’re already seeing power outages. You’re going to see a lot more,” DeSantis said, with more than 360,000 confirmed at this writing.
“New debris” will create hazards along with “old debris” from Hurricane Helene, DeSantis added.
Those in the path of the storm are urged to “hunker down” and not go outside during the eyewall, and if running generators, to avoid running them inside the home.
125 homes have already been destroyed, per Florida Department of Emergency Director Kevin Guthrie.
It’s certain that number will only increase during one of the longest, darkest nights in Florida’s history. And there are places where state officials and first responders won’t be able to get to immediately, until the wind dies down, Guthrie said.
DeSantis noted the storm “deteriorated” from its previous levels, giving him some optimism that wind damage may be lesser than what it could have been due to the “shear or whatever happened.”
“Florida buildings, particularly new ones, they’ll be able to withstand that for sure,” he said, but noted the tornadic activity was unprecedented “all over the state” with more expected “throughout the night.”
He also said the landfall would have been worse if it was farther north.
“It kind of went east into Sarasota County. I don’t know where they’re going to say the landfall was; maybe Venice from what I’m looking on the radar, maybe Middle Sarasota County. But if it cuts across from there, there’s a lot of rural areas. Whereas if it would have gone into Tampa Bay and rode up I-4, that’s like millions and millions of people,” he said.
DeSantis and Guthrie expect to interface with “federal partners” such as the Federal Emergency Management Administration, and hope to expedite the timeframe to reopen ports that might be damaged upon landfall, such as Manatee.
“If something needs to be done on these ports to say like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be weeks for a port.’ No, no, no, no, no, that doesn’t work,” the Governor said.
Additionally, debris that wasn’t picked up between Helene and Milton will be a priority with the feds.
“Let local governments do the debris a little bit differently so that we incentivize people to come and do it quickly because the way it goes now, there wasn’t,” DeSantis said, again lamenting local governments not removing wreckage from the previous storm before the next one arrived.
And, he noted, there could still be another one to come before the end of Hurricane Season.
12 comments
A Day without MAGA
October 9, 2024 at 8:31 pm
The ocean is lovely dark and deep, people in Florida got many night to go before they sleep sleep,this not the end ,until the end of the season is over,wishing people a prayer is only for the soul that perish,the state should intervene and make it mandatory for people with minor children to evacuate or the state take custody of them,the next is brewing as Milton rear it rapture
forsaken
October 10, 2024 at 2:34 am
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No more MAGAts
October 10, 2024 at 8:15 am
Rhonda is a disgusting disappointment. Can’t say it enough
"E"
October 9, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Thank you Ron and the Beautiful Casey Desantis for your leaderdhip during this time of great burdon on the citizens of The Great Free State of Florida,
“E”
*I have to keep this short to save my cell phone battery as we also lost our power here at Statley E Mansion*
The Dumb E
October 10, 2024 at 8:09 am
Tell the truth E, you didn’t pay your cell phone bill and you’re out of data!
yew oweme
October 10, 2024 at 12:35 pm
EARL, is the stately e mansion another name for a mobile home or trailer? i have generators on my homes. earl, generators aren’t that expensive, why do you not have one? earl, you are such a loser.
A Day without MAGA
October 9, 2024 at 9:44 pm
Thing are gonna get bad,and real ugly,I never experienced an night hurricane in Texas,this storm will be over Florida for 12 hours until Thursday morning,I am currently in Texas,our weather have been pleasant,it has been low humidity with a dry heat
A Day without Desantis Explaing Weather
October 9, 2024 at 9:55 pm
Gov Desantis,why are you explaining something,when Florida is paying Amy Godsey to forecast Florida weather, Google Amy Godsey Florida Meteorologist
My Take
October 9, 2024 at 11:04 pm
This is surely *A* Big One.
But fortunatly not *THE* Big One:
Cat. 5 drect hit on a major city.
Dont Say FLA
October 10, 2024 at 7:23 am
The sun shines so much after a storm. I wonder if there will finally be enough sunshine for us to learn how much of our tax money Rhonda wasted in Iowa having been enabled by their GOP enablers to hide all their financials from the public?
Nah. The real storm that damaged Florida beyond relief is the FLgOP’s so-called “governance.” That has to end before we learn of Rhonda’s spend.
Hurricanes are democrats
October 10, 2024 at 8:13 am
I wonder if Ronda is partial to hurricanes named after a man, woman, or non-binary. Ronda sees to get more excited about the male named ones and especially when they come in the back side and leave everything flooded mess.
yew oweme
October 10, 2024 at 12:38 pm
is that sexual innuendo ?
Comments are closed.