Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is not playing the same political games North Carolina faced during Hurricane Helene when it comes to keeping his state safe ahead of the life-threatening storm ravaging Florida.
DeSantis is bracing for a “major hit” from Hurricane Milton by deploying 6,000 Florida National Guardsman and 3,000 National Guardsman from other states, forming the most extensive search and rescue mobilization in the state’s history.
“We have 500 tactical vehicles, including 180 high water vehicles, aerial water, and ground National Guard search and rescue teams. This is the largest Florida National Guard search and rescue mobilization in the entire state of Florida,” DeSantis said on Wednesday.
Tonight I joined CBS News to discuss Hurricane Milton. pic.twitter.com/bOz63tP2aB
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 9, 2024
The Florida State Guard also plans to deploy nearly 200 soldiers, ten maritime crews, three high-water UTVs, two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, four drone teams, 15 cut-and-toss crews, and two amphibious rescue crews as the storm makes landfall.
Ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall, I visited a logistics staging area in Lake City, one of many staging sites in strategic locations just outside the storm’s path. Thousands of state and local emergency personnel and over 50,000 linemen are now at sites like these across… pic.twitter.com/K5Z9Ism4sd
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 9, 2024
As Hurricane Milton headed toward the sunshine state, multiple tornadoes were recorded across Florida, warning residents to take “shelter quickly.”
After seeing how the Biden-Harris Administration reacted to Hurricane Helene's impact on North Carolina and Georgia, DeSantis has vowed to take measures himself and “save lives and start restoring power as soon as the hurricane passes.”
As officials are warning of “catastrophic results” from the storm, DeSantis has already “delivered massive amounts of supplies -- meals, water bottles, sandbags, tarps, generators to be able to help our local communities to respond to this storm.”
President Joe Biden criticized former President Donald Trump on an "onslaught of lies" about his federal response to Hurricane Milton and Helene.
"Over the last few weeks, there has been a reckless, irresponsible, and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies that are disturbing people," Biden said.
"It's undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has already been taken and will continue to be taken, and it's harmful to those who need help the most," the president continued. "There is simply no place for this to happen."
Trump declared the Biden-Harris Administration's the "worst hurricane response since Katrina."