during thursday press conferenceFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) reprimanded a reporter who tried to blame global warming for the tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton, and came prepared with facts about hurricane history.
Two hurricanes and dozens of tornadoes have struck Florida in recent weeks.
“People need to put this in perspective.”
When asked by a reporter if he thought the increase in tornadoes could be related to climate change, DeSantis said: answered“I think you can go back through all of human history and find tornadoes.”
When Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida late Wednesday, the pressure was about 950 millibars, the governor said.
“If you go back to 1851, there were probably 27 hurricanes that were very damaging. [barometric pressure] — So the lower the pressure, the stronger the pressure,” he continued. “I think there have been about 27 hurricanes with landfall pressures lower than Milton, and I think 17 of those occurred before 1960.”
DeSantis said the most powerful hurricane to hit Florida since the 1850s was the Labor Day Hurricane in the 1930s, which had a pressure of 892 millibars.
“It completely obliterated the Keys. We've never seen anything like it before, and it far exceeds any powerful hurricane we've ever seen in Florida,” DeSantis said.
He noted that the state's deadliest storm was the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, which killed more than 4,000 people.
DeSantis added that Hurricane Ian caused deaths. 149 people Two years ago in Florida, “we didn't come close to that.”
“I think people need to put this into perspective. They try to take all the different things that happen in a tropical climate and act like it's something under the sun. “There is nothing new about this. This is something the state has been working on throughout its history and will continue to work on,” he said.
DeSantis argued that what has changed is Florida's population.
“We have a population of 23 million people. When a storm hits, it can damage more people and property than it did 100 years ago. So the potential for damage is increasing,” he said. continued, adding that the state's prevention capacity has also improved significantly.
“Until I became governor, we never did a pre-assessment of power assets. Now people expect it, but in the past that wasn't the case. That's why when a hurricane hits, people… will be without power for three weeks,” DeSantis said. “Now we have to pay to get them on board, but in my opinion, the sooner we can get everyone together, the better the economy will be anyway.”
Another reporter asked DeSantis whether he would denounce “misinformation” about “some entity controlling the weather.”
The governor replied: “This is on both sides. Some people think the government can do this, and some people think it's all fossil fuels' fault.”
“There is historical precedent for this kind of thing,” he says. “It's hurricane season. It's going to be tropical.”
“These are natural events,” DeSantis added.
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