TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – The State of Florida is asking the federal government for more help cleaning up after Hurricane Milton leaves the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the request will be focused on bringing people from out of state to help clean debris.
This request comes after Gov. DeSantis spoke with President Joe Biden Monday night. Gov. DeSantis said he will use any resource available to help prepare and recover.
“My job is to use all the levers available to me as governor to be able to help prepare and respond to this storm,” Gov. DeSantis said.
One of those levers is getting support from the federal government. Monday, President Biden approved Florida’s pre-disaster declaration.
“Everything we’ve asked for, the administration has approved. There’s not anything we’ve asked for we haven’t,” Gov. DeSantis said.
The president’s declaration unlocks money and manpower to help with search and rescue. The Department of Homeland Security said it is important to have those partnerships in place now.
“Having those teams pre-positioned when we move directly to the response,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Dan Watson said.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said he’s going to ask FEMA to help with debris cleanup.
“We see what we can do in a mere 48 hours with thousands of resources. So the thought process here is to ask FEMA for a waiver,” Guthrie said.
That waiver would allow the state to offer more money to private contractors to bring them across the country to get debris picked up faster.
“We can encourage and incentivize these haulers to come from across the country to help us get that debris picked up,” Guthrie said.
Just like restoring power, Governor DeSantis wants debris picked up as fast as possible.
“These things tend to take months and months to do. Maybe this is just something that will take some time no matter what you do, but I think it can be done quicker,” Gov. DeSantis said.
Governor DeSantis said after speaking with the president, he expects that will be approved as well as FEMA individual assistance once Milton passes.
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Copyright 2024 WCJB. All rights reserved.