Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) warned residents on the state's west coast that while current projections of Tropical Storm Idalia have it mainly hitting the Big Bend region as a Category 2 hurricane, it can shift at the last minute and hit elsewhere, similar to what happened last year with Hurricane Ian.
Speaking from Tallahassee, DeSantis said everyone who is under a storm watch or warning needs to prepare now before Idalia makes landfall late Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning. To make matters worse, Tropical Storm Idalia is already strengthening before reaching the Gulf of Mexico's warm water, which will only add to its intensity.
Warnings and watches have been implemented from Apalachicola to Tampa and the all the way down to Naples.
🚨 8/28 12:30PM: Hurricane Warnings are in effect for Citrus, Dixie, coastal Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, coastal Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sumter, Taylor & coastal Wakulla counties.
— FL Division of Emergency Management (@FLSERT) August 28, 2023
14 counties are under Tropical Storm Warnings. pic.twitter.com/OPTnf9CGa3
10 AM CDT 28Aug: Storm Surge, Hurricane & Tropical Storm warnings for #Idalia have been issued for portions of Florida. Residents in these areas should follow any advice given by local officials. Make sure to stay up to date with the latest information at https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ pic.twitter.com/R1uWF5Eu8f
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 28, 2023
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"All Floridans, you need to be executing your plans now...You're in the homestretch right here...This is going to be a major hurricane. This is going to be a powerful hurricane and this is absolutely going to impact the state of Florida in many ways," DeSantis said.
Florida National Guardsmen have already been activated but DeSantis said more are being deployed to bring the total number to around 5,500 Guardsmen. They will be equipped with vehicles to handle floodwaters and 12 aircraft to carry out their operations once the storm passes. Lineman have been staged within the state so they can be rapidly deployed to restore power to affected areas. The Florida Highway Patrol has 300 troopers ready to deploy and is prepared to implement 12-hour shifts.
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