Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for most Florida counties as the state prepares for rapidly intensifying Hurricane Idalia to make landfall on Wednesday.
Forty-nine of the state’s 67 counties were under a state of emergency as of Tuesday afternoon. DeSantis reiterated that “this is going to be a major hurricane,” as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
Idalia was officially upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane on Tuesday with sustained winds of 100 mph. The storm was moving at 16 mph and was 195 miles south-southwest of Tampa Bay at 4 p.m.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Idalia is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning, and there will be “rapid intensification” of the storm before it hits.
The intensification is expected to result in the storm becoming a Category 3 hurricane, with forecasters predicting sustained winds of 125 mph and gusts that could reach up to 155 mph, per the Orlando Sentinel.
NHC warned of a “life-threatening storm surge” due to “rising water moving inland from the coastline.”
Robbie Berg, a senior hurricane specialist at NHC, said Tuesday morning that “the biggest hazards are storm surge.”
“We’re expecting a surge as much as 8 to 12 feet above normal tide levels in portions of the Big Bend area of Florida,” said Berg, per ABC 7 Chicago.
DeSantis informed Florida residents that the best place to be is on high ground, saying that “you do not have to leave the state” to be safe from the storm.
“You don’t have to drive hundreds of miles. You have to get to higher ground in a safe structure. You can ride the storm out there, then go back to your home,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
While speaking at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, DeSantis warned Floridians that “you still have time this morning to make your final preparations … but you gotta do that now.”
He added that steps have been taken to aid in the evacuation process. Toll road fees will be waived, shelters and hotels are prepared to take in evacuees, and more than 30,000 utility workers are ready to make repairs once the storm has passed.
President Joe Biden stated on Monday that he has been in contact with DeSantis, and the White House “approved [an] Emergency Declaration for Florida.”
“The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures,” stated the White House in a Monday press release.
One North Texas organization has also begun preparing resources to help those who may be affected by the hurricane. Texas Baptist Men has been loading trucks filled with supplies that will be sent to different cities in Florida.
“All of our feeding teams, all of our shower and laundry teams, all of our chaplains, all of our flood recovery, and all of our chainsaw teams are all making preparations to go to Florida right now,” said John Hall, a member of the organization, per NBC 5 DFW.
Hall said that the organization has been very busy recently due to the number of natural disasters happening across North America.
“We’ve purchased and sent supplies to Maui, we have a team in Bastrop [County], we’re talking to Canadians to help with wildfires there, and on top of that, we have a hurricane heading towards Florida,” he said, according to NBC 5.
