‘The storm is here’: Gov. DeSantis speaks as the hurricane Florida feared most is making landfall

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.