Joe Biden on Thursday approved a major disaster declaration for Florida after Hurricane Ian hit the state as a tropical storm and dropped to a Category 1. The president announced federal aid to supplement state recovery efforts.
In this regard, the White House announced federal funds for those affected by Ian in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
The storm is expected to bring "potentially deadly" flooding, storm surge and winds to numerous parts of Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis noted that Ian has brought "historic" levels of damage to the state and announced the beginning of rescue operations.
The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that has been done is historic." "We've never seen a flood event like this, we've never seen a storm surge of this magnitude."
Since 1AM, search and rescue operations have been underway in response to #HurricaneIan.
Thanks to @FLTF2USAR for being the first on-site and to the U.S. Coast Guard for their great efforts.
- Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 29, 2022
More than 2.6 million customers without electric power
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, more than 2.6 million customers are without power, supply tracker PowerOutage.us reported. The most affected region is the southwest. Lee County has more than 420,000 customers without electricity, approximately 90% of all customers. In Sarasota County, more than 225,000 customers are without supply, approximately 79%. Collier County has more than 202,000 customers without electricity, representing 77% of the county's population.
Over 2.59 million electric customers are without power in #Florida due to #HurricaneIan.
[2022-09-29 8:33 AM EDT]https://t.co/8cAFt3zGJe #PowerOutage pic.twitter.com/WzmhF7nWkp- PowerOutage.us (@PowerOutage_us) September 29, 2022
On the other hand, the weather service warns of the risk of flooding and increased winds, that will become stronger from Friday afternoon.
8 AM EDT Advisory: Deep tropical moisture associated with #Ian will bring the potential for flash flooding and possibly some main-stem river flooding. Gusty winds are forecasted to begin today. With strongest gusts Friday afternoon and evening. #scwx #ncwx #gawx #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/TW8NGFOuOZ
- NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) September 29, 2022
Ian is now expected to move inland from Florida, exit into the Atlantic Ocean and end up affecting the states of Georgia and South Carolina, according to forecasts from the National Hurricane Center, which updated its warnings as the hurricane evolved into a tropical storm.
