Hurricane Idalia, which is expected to be a Major Hurricane, is predicted to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf coast by Wednesday, August 30th.
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., sent a letter to President Joe Biden in support of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for 33 of Florida’s counties due to Tropical Storm Idalia.
The letter is below.
Dear Mr. President:
We write in support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for 33 of Florida’s counties due to Tropical Storm Idalia, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane and impact Florida in the coming days.
Currently, Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast by Wednesday morning. In addition to strong winds and heavy rain, this approaching storm is expected to bring severe storm surge and flooding. While Florida is no stranger to hurricanes, this storm approaches less than a year after Hurricane Ian brought widespread damage, and from which the state is still recovering.
Ensuring that the state has access to the federal resources it needs is imperative to protecting Floridians, property, and our communities. As such, we request that you promptly approve Governor DeSantis’ request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.
Biden approved the request.
FEMA announced on Monday that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Florida to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Idalia beginning Aug. 27, 2023, and continuing.
The president’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population and to provide appropriate assistance to save lives, to protect property and safety and to lessen or avert the threat of catastrophe in Alachua, Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla Counties.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the effects of the emergency. Emergency protective measures limited to direct federal assistance, under the public assistance program will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.
Brett H. Howard has been named Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
