Gov. DeSantis doles out recovery resources in Pasco, marks power and gas progress

At a trailer park in Zephyrhills, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that half a million dollars is coming from the Florida Disaster Fund to support nonprofits engaged in storm recovery in Milton’s wake.

Speaking at Betmar Acres Mobile Home Park, DeSantis said the state would send $50,000 each to 10 organizations to help people in Pasco County and surrounding areas displaced by the storm. Those nonprofits are Florida Rubicon, Tool Bank USA, Florida Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, Faith Responders, Samaritans’ Purse, Rebuilding Tampa Bay, SBP, All Hands and Hearts, CWS and Plain Compassion Disaster Response.

Additionally, DeSantis announced that Lowe’s would provide 250 “flood buckets,” including bleach, sponges and other items, to clean up water and sanitize after the floods that hit, even though Pasco and other counties were north of the landfall.

“The northern part of the storm is just so wet,” DeSantis said. “You have places in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, Polk that they just got inundated with water, and so you had 10 to 15 inches that occurred along and east of the I-75 corridor. Both inland and riverine flooding have been observed. Clearly there were multiple places within Pasco County that have seen that.”

Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie noted that 20 additional pumps have been provided to help remove floodwaters in the area. He noted that multiple rivers are in flood stage, and those floods would have to recede before substantial progress could be made.

DeSantis also noted progress in electricity reconnections with “4 million accounts restored to power,” leaving “about 170,000 accounts without power,” with TECO, FPL and Duke Energy customers bearing the impacts.

Only Hillsborough is over 10% without power at this point, at “about 12%,” but with an “aggressive timeline” for restoration, DeSantis added.

And gas shortages are coming to a close, with “fuel really rushing into state” and imports via Port Canaveral “doubled.”

The Governor noted that not every gas station will have gas, given this is “not Venezuela” and that sector is controlled by “private markets, private companies,” so “you’re not going to have the state controlling” the flow of gas.

The state has provided more than 2.5 million gallons of gas free of charge, with “backfilling” of some stations and 10 “open fuel sites” in Southwest Florida.