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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Officials detail dire impacts from Hurricane Ian, call for more assistance |
| 2022-10-03 |
| [The Hill] Local, state and federal officials painted a dire description of Hurricane Ian’s impacts during appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows, with many of them calling for more federal assistance. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell and Fort Myers, Fla., Mayor Kevin Anderson, all of whom surveyed damage from Ian, told hosts that the storm caused widespread flooding and property damage across the state as hundreds of thousands remain without power. "I don’t think it has a comparison, not for Florida," Rubio told co-anchor Jonathan Karl on ABC’s "This Week." "There are entire communities — Fort Myers Beach no longer exists," Rubio said. "I mean, it’ll have to be rebuilt. It’ll be something different. It was a slice of old Florida that you can’t recapture. Sanibel’s basically flattened." Ian made landfall near Fort Myers on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 storm, bringing destructive winds and an extraordinary storm surge that some have estimated may have reached 18 feet at its peak. At least 47 Floridians died from the hurricane, and the death toll has continued to climb as officials pursue the recovery effort. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) office said on Saturday afternoon that first responders so far have made more than 1,100 rescues. "I know we worry a lot about the direct impacts from the storm itself if it’s making landfall, but we see so many more injuries and sometimes more fatalities after the storm because there are so many dangers out there," Criswell told "Fox News Sunday" anchor Shannon Bream. "What I can say is people need to stay vigilant right now," Criswell continued. "Standing water brings with it all kinds of hazards." As officials continue assessing the wreckage, Florida’s two senators said they support congressional funding to aid the recovery, which would go beyond President Biden’s approval of Florida’s emergency and major disaster declarations that freed up federal resources. But on CNN’s "State of the Union," co-anchor Dana Bash pressed Rubio on why he didn’t vote for a relief bill in early 2013 following Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of New York and New Jersey. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 OT - has anybody heard a peep out of Witless Whitmer lately? The year? |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2022-10-03 18:03 |
| #3 DeSantis brought the boom to CNN |
| Posted by: Beavis 2022-10-03 17:34 |
| #2 Every old timer I talk to down here says Charley was worse. Ironically, it was a more compact storm. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-10-03 16:08 |
| #1 "I don’t think it has a comparison, not for Florida," Weren't around for Andrew? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2022-10-03 16:03 |