Gov. DeSantis provides updates ahead of Hurricane Helene

Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Tallahassee to provide a preparation update ahead of Hurricane Helene.

While at the State Emergency Operations Center Tuesday afternoon, he provided the latest updates regarding how Florida is preparing for the storm. The governor reminded locals to prep now as time is quickly running out before the storm’s landfall, which is expected to be as a hurricane late Thursday in the Tallahassee area.

Those under an evacuation order are strongly recommended to find shelter away from exposed areas. Each county will also have pet-friendly shelters.

“You can’t control the path of the storm, you can’t control how severe it is, but you can control what you do throughout the balance of today and into tomorrow morning, so do things that are going to put you in the best possible situation to come out of this safely,” he said.

He also appeared in Tampa on Tuesday morning.

Earlier that morning, the governor spoke at the TECO Energy East Hillsborough facility in Tampa.

DeSantis mentioned that while variance is possible with the direction of Helene, the current models predict that landfall will be in the Big Bend and the Tallahassee area in Northern Florida.

“The models vary on how intense this could be, but there’s clearly a pathway for this to rapidly intensify prior to making landfall,” said DeSantis.

A state of emergency has been issued for 61 counties before the storm.

Southwest Florida is under a tropical storm warning, and areas like Charlotte County are at higher risk of flooding from Helene’s storm surge.

Helene is expected to intensify into a Category 3 major hurricane before landfall Thursday.

Florida Power and Light linemen will be deployed during the storm to assist in power outages and restoration.

The podium was then shifted to Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie.

Guthrie further emphasized DeSantis’ points and reminded Floridians to keep their cell phone alerts active and to adhere to warnings if and when they are issued.

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