Florida governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference on Sept. 1 while observing the hurricane damage in North Florida, during which he emphasized the need for the federal government to add another county to its major disaster declaration.
“We definitely need to get the federal government to add Madison County to the individual assistance of that declaration,” he said. “They got hit. They clearly merit it, [and] I think we’re gonna probably get that because there was a lot of damage that had happened there.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) already approved the declaration for seven counties. However, Madison County was left out. The county, which sits between Taylor County and the Florida-Georgia Line, suffered significant damage with thousands of downed trees and 100 percent power loss, according to the governor earlier on Sept. 1.
“You didn’t have the storm surge, of course, at a place like Madison County that you did in Horseshoe Beach,” he said. “But you had a strong storm coming through here. A lot of trees are knocked down. People are having trees knocked into their homes.”
We’re going to continue to monitor damage assessments, the governor said. “Because with all of this debris, you’re going to have a lot of homes that are going to end up having been impacted.”
He recalled a story he was told about a couple that had to get three fallen trees taken off their house.
“It doesn’t mean that the house won’t be habitable, but it does mean that these are some serious challenges,” he said. “So I want to make sure that we’ve got support available for folks.”
Mr. DeSantis was joined by Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris, Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), and Florida state representative and Florida State Guard member Tom Fabricio.
Ms. Harris announced that a Family Resource Support Center was up and running in Madison County.
“These centers were critical following Hurricane Ian,” she said. “These centers are staffed with skilled, passionate teams, including health navigators, crisis counselors, and program experts who specialize in helping people through the recovery process.”
Ms. Cammack brought attention to the impending agricultural damage to the region.
“In Suwannee County—along with Hamilton, Madison, Lafayette, Dixie, and Levy County—we are going to sustain tremendous agricultural losses,” she said.
“And when you think about the impact that has on our communities, the jobs that it provides, the local economic impacts, it will be felt very, very strong and deep.
“I want to make sure that folks recognize that our producers—who are struggling to get back on their feet, who provide jobs in our communities, as well as feed our communities, our state, and our nation—are recognized for the challenges that they’re going through.
“Everything from our aquaculture industry to our row crops to our timber industries are all sustaining damages.”
Despite the destruction, Mr. DeSantis reports seeing a confident and swift recovery back to normalcy in the area.
He visited the Waffle House, saying it opened four or five hours after the storm went through. Most of the retailers in the area have been able to get back up and running, too, he said. However, most are running on generators in the hardest-hit areas.
The Florida officials also took time to once again praise the first responders for their hard work in manifesting a rapid recovery effort.
“I want to thank everybody,” Mr. DeSantis said. “I mean, I’ve seen folks from all over the state that have searched this area to help. Whether it’s on our urban search and rescue teams, whether it’s sheriff’s deputies from other parts of the state, police officers, firefighters, you name it.
“It’s really been a team effort, all hands on deck, and we’re gonna keep doing that to be able to get everybody back on their feet.”
“As the wife of a first responder, it is incredibly important that we recognize the sacrifices that they make along with their families when they leave their own homes in the time of crisis,” said Ms. Cammack.
“They leave to go take care of others, and so thank you not just to our first responders to our military, but to their families as well.”
Mr. DeSantis will be joined by President Joe Biden on Sept. 2.
