DeSantis on Hurricane Ian response: This is going to be a 24/7 operation, Sanibel 'is destruction'
Damaged homes are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Speaking to reporters in an afternoon update from the Charlotte County Emergency Operations Center, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he had seen a number of efforts to bring people to safety, particularly in Lee County, Collier County, Charlotte and Naples.
"This is going to be a 24/7 operation, because we realize how important it is," he noted.
DeSantis said that more than $2 million had been raised to support storm recovery efforts in less than 24 hours, noting that "this is just the beginning."
"There's a lot more that's going to need to be done," the governor added.
DeSantis said he had been able to meet some of the more than 42,000 linemen in Lake City, Florida, and that Florida Power & Light Company had the biggest footprint.
FPL President Eric Silagy said that 20,000 men and women were working to restore power and that 700,000 customers had seen power restored after the hurricane.
Not one transmission tower was lost.
"We are now in the process of getting the distribution system back up and the substations that had flying debris go into them cleared out so we can get them back online," he said.
Silagy explained that sections that will require rebuilding in the barrier islands.
"And so, this is a 24/7 effort to stabilize and to restore. And so, we're going to do whatever we can to assist with that effort," DeSantis stated.
The governor told members of the media that Sanibel Island in particular "is destruction" and had gotten hit with really "biblical storm surge."
Roads and structures were washed away there and he called images of Sanibel "really difficult images to see."
The governor said that while the state wants to get back to some sense of normalcy as quickly as possible, but they realized it would be harder in some areas than others.
"But ... let's work on Sanibel and let's bring it back to where it was as soon as we can."
Posted by Julia Musto
