A.G. Gancarski
In St. Petersburg after Hurricane Milton, Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people to “exercise caution” and avoid “fatalities” as the state recovers from the storm and the immediate threats have been “stabilized.”
“We’re now in the period where you have fatalities that are preventable,” the Florida Governor said Friday.
“We have had fatalities because of interaction with downed power lines and water. We are seeing hazards that are still there. So please exercise caution.”
DeSantis is urging Floridians to avoid the temptation to “wade into floodwaters,” and also to “be careful with how you’re using ladders.”
Those without power are advised to “use generators properly, make sure it’s outside your home” and “don’t run that generator inside.”
“You have to make the proper decisions and just know that there are still some hazards out there,” DeSantis urged. “We see debris, probably not as much debris as I anticipated 48 hours ago when you were looking at what the storm was doing, but you have a lot of debris.”
Regarding debris on power lines, the advice is simple and direct: “Don’t mess with it.”
“People will come and be able to get that to get that handled,” DeSantis said.
Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie added that driving through floodwaters could lead to perils that are “100% preventable,” and affirmed DeSantis’ message regarding generator safety.
“Make sure it’s 20 feet away from any open door of your residence, whether that’s your garage. Don’t put it inside your garage. It’s 20 feet away from the garage door. Twenty feet away from the front door, back door. Twenty feet away from a window,” Guthrie advised.
“If you have to run if you run out of fuel and you need to refuel, give the generator 20 minutes to cool down and then refuel it before you restart it, and then always have a carbon monoxide detector inside your home to help prevent the carbon monoxide poisoning.”
