Ron DeSantis holds Hurricane Ian recovery efforts press conference

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Cape Coral on Monday giving the public an update on recovery efforts.

DeSantis explained during the press conference that large quantities of water and food are getting distributed to people in need. Additionally, tarps are being distributed to people who’ve lost roofs.

DeSantis went on to say that the point of distribution was up in 18 hours, while they normally take around 90 hours or more to create. There are more than 25 points of distribution in Southwest Florida with eight in Lee County. The points of distribution give non-perishable items out to residents.

With regard to gas, DeSantis said that 1,600,000 gallons have come to SWFL, including a tank full of fuel in DeSoto County.

In terms of getting power back to residents in SWFL, as of Monday early evening, around 2,100,000 people have had their power restored. In Charlotte County 58% and in Lee County 55% still have power outages.

Officials are in the process of deploying 375 Starlink devices that will give internet to people in SWFL. You get internet by connecting directly to the Starlink system, which will be available at the points of distribution.

The Florida Department of Transportation is putting together a plan for a temporary fix for the Sanibel Causeway. There is an emergency bid request to get the work moving.

Co-op is sending another 1,000 linemen to SWFL to assist with power restoration efforts. However, before the storm hit, there were 42,000 linemen stationed throughout Florida. DeSantis mentions in the press conference he wants, “Florida to be the linemen capital of the world.”

You can watch the full press conference above.