Tag Archives: Florida

Gaetz Begs For FEMA Aid Days After Voting Against It

The Hill reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) says he wants Congress to approve additional funds to help his state recover from Hurricane Ian after voting against a government funding measure last week that freed up $18.8 billion in federal disaster aid. Gaetz joined 15 other Florida lawmakers in voting against the continuing resolution, which allows the government to remain funded …

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Power May Be Out For Months In Some Florida Areas

The Naples Daily News reports: It may be months before some Southwest Florida coastal areas hammered by Hurricane Ian have their power restored, according to Florida Power & Light Co. “We are repairing in most places outside of, right along the barrier islands and the beaches and the immediate coast line of Southwest Florida,” FPL CEO Eric Silagy said Sunday …

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NYT Identifies Woman Who Lured Migrants Onto Flight

The New York Times reports: Until now, little has been known about the woman whom migrants said identified herself only by her first name, “Perla,” when she solicited them to join the flights. A person briefed on the San Antonio sheriff’s office investigation into the matter told The New York Times that the person being looked at in connection with …

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Rubio Defends Voting Against Hurricane Sandy Relief

“What I didn’t vote for in Sandy is because they included a roof for a museum in Washington, D.C., for fisheries in Alaska. It had been loaded up with things that had nothing to do with disaster relief. I voted for every disaster relief package, especially that’s clean, and I’ll continue to do so. When it comes to Florida, we’ll …

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Socialism: DeSantis Waives Unemployment Assistance Requirements In Counties Affected By Hurricane Ian

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis has waived several requirements to receive unemployment assistance for Floridians affected by Hurricane Ian, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced Sunday. Now, Hurricane Ian survivors will temporarily be able to bypass the work search reporting, waiting week and Employ Florida registration requirements for reemployment assistance claims. The waiver applies to those in FEMA …

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Biden To Tour Hurricane Damage In Florida, Puerto Rico

The Hill reports: President Biden will travel in the coming days to Puerto Rico and Florida to tour damage from Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian, respectively, the White House announced late Saturday. The president and first lady will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday, followed by a trip Wednesday to Florida. The White House did not disclose where the president …

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Scott Seeks FEMA Aid One Day After Voting Against It

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rick Scott sent a joint letter on Friday to the Senate Appropriations Committee chairs to secure funding “provide much needed assistance to Florida.” The Senate passed a short-term spending bill on Thursday that includes an additional $18.8 billion for FEMA to respond to Hurricane Ian and future disasters. The vote was …

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New Flooding Closes 14 Miles Of Florida Interstate

Florida Politics reports: Because of rising water, a section of Interstate 75 between Venice and North Port has been closed in both directions. The closures affect I-75 and Florida State Road 93 in both directions, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). FDOT also says to expect major delays and for the detours to continue …

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Hurricane Ian Death Toll Rises To At Least 30 [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Rescuers searched for survivors among the ruins of Florida’s flooded homes from Hurricane Ian as the remnants of one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. continued to push north. The powerful storm terrorized millions of people for most of the week, battering western Cuba before raking across Florida from the warm …

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Florida Officials Under Fire For Delaying Evacuation

The New York Times reports: As Hurricane Ian charged toward the western coast of Florida this week, the warnings from forecasters were growing more urgent. Life-threatening storm surge threatened to deluge the region from Tampa all the way to Fort Myers. But while officials along much of that coastline responded with orders to evacuate on Monday, emergency managers in Lee …

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LIVE VIDEO: DeSantis Speaks On Hurricane Response

The New York Times reports: As a freshman congressman in 2013, Ron DeSantis was unambiguous: A federal bailout for the New York region after Hurricane Sandy was an irresponsible boondoggle, a symbol of the “put it on the credit card mentality” he had come to Washington to oppose. “I sympathize with the victims,” he said. But his answer was no. …

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Two Million Without Electricity As Florida Power Official Says System Must Be “Rebuilt, Not Restored” [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: More than 2 million Floridians remained without power Friday morning as they emerged from the flooding and wreckage left by Hurricane Ian and began to plot a recovery from the storm’s devastation. In Lee County, where Fort Myers and Cape Coral took direct hits from the storm, more than 80% of customers were without power Friday …

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Florida Beach Town “Decimated” By Hurricane [VIDEO]

ABC News reports: Fort Myers Beach, Florida, has been decimated by Hurricane Ian. Video shared by Bobby Pratt from the town on Estero Island in Lee County shows debris littered everywhere and buildings reduced to piles of rubble. Boats are slammed on shore, and a huge chunk of a pier is missing. Governor Ron DeSantis said Thursday that the electric …

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“Don’t Say Gay” Florida Rep Loses Home In Hurricane

Florida Politics reports: Rep. Spencer Roach said Hurricane Ian has left countless residents in his Lee County district homeless — and he is one of them. The North Fort Myers Republican evacuated the district before the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Cayo Costa. He rode out the storm in Stuart at his brother’s home. While there, he learned flooding …

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Florida Sheriff: Fatalities “Definitely In The Hundreds”

The Daily Beast reports: At first light on Thursday morning, emergency crews were beginning to reckon with the monumental devastation left in Ian’s wake, as homes were ripped from their foundations and public buildings damaged. “I definitely know the fatalities are in the hundreds,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told Good Morning America Thursday. “There are thousands of people that …

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2.5 Million Floridians Without Power And Cell Service

The Associated Press reports: Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, cutting off the only bridge to a barrier island, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people as it dumped rain across the peninsula on Thursday. One of the strongest hurricanes to …

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Search And Rescue Efforts Begin In Southwest Florida

CNN reports: Search and rescue teams are working to respond to hours-old calls for help that came as Ian – now a tropical storm still marching across Florida – slammed the state’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane, its surge trapping residents and its monstrous winds and flooding rains leaving millions without power and many without drinkable water. Collapsed …

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White House Approves Federal Disaster Aid For Florida

Just in from the White House: Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Ian beginning on September 23, 2022, and continuing. The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in …

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Ian Downgraded To Tropical Storm, Headed Toward SC

NBC News reports: Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm early Thursday but still expected to produce strong winds, heavy rains, and storm surge across, according to the National Weather Service. The storm made landfall over the west coast of Florida as a category 4 storm on Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. It knocked out power …

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Over One Million Without Power As Ian Rages [VIDEO]

CBS News reports: Hurricane Ian is so powerful that its winds were just a few miles per hour shy of becoming a Category 5 storm as it made landfall in Florida on Wednesday. And it didn’t take long for it to unleash its wrath on Florida’s power grids. Ian’s eye began moving onshore at Sanibel and Captiva islands by midday …

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