Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a press release on Thursday that he would be dispatching more state resources to help Floridians with response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
He ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to mobilize and deploy upwards of 60 personnel to Florida, including a disaster recovery task force, an incident management team from the Texas A&M Forest Service, and emergency management experts.
“Texans understand the urgency of hurricane disaster response and recovery efforts, and our state is swiftly sending more support and resources to Florida as they continue responding to Hurricane Ian,” stated Abbott.
This move follows an earlier deployment of Texas State personnel to Florida prior to Hurricane Ian making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday.
Abbott stated further, “America is stronger when we come together during times of crisis, and the State of Texas will continue helping Floridians as they prepare to move forward from this dangerous storm.”
The devastating effects of the monster storm are still being discovered as first responders and rescue teams scour the widespread wreckage in the particularly-hard-hit southwestern coast of Florida.
As of Thursday, 2.6 million Floridians still had no electricity because of the number of downed powerlines, struck by trees and debris whipped up by the powerful hurricane’s winds.
Abbott’s press release also mentioned that more than 1,000 Texas electricity provider workers had deployed to Florida to help restore electricity to affected communities. However, it is unclear when that might be as the scale of destruction caused by winds and flooding becomes more apparent.
Hurricane Ian continued on its trajectory through Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean, only to turn westerly and make landfall again in South Carolina on Friday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane.
The death toll in Florida remains unclear. Authorities stated it could be days or even weeks before an accurate count is reached.