Rep. Greg Steube (R-Florida) predicted Wednesday that Hurricane Milton would cause “catastrophic destruction” to Florida's coastal communities, but would not result in “catastrophic loss of life.” He said he hoped that.
Steube, who represents Sarasota, Fla., about eight miles east of where the hurricane officially made landfall, said in an interview on NewsNation's “The Hill” that people were being told to evacuate before the storm hit. He said he hopes people will listen when he speaks.
“After what we saw in Helen, we hope people will abide by the evacuation orders,” Steube said, speaking remotely with a generator providing static electricity as the entire region lost power.
“If it flooded in Helen, it's going to flood in this storm,” Steube continued. “So I hope that if people comply, there won't be a catastrophic loss of life.”
“I am convinced that coastal communities will experience devastating destruction,” he added.
Steube said he is confident there is enough manpower to help with the recovery, noting that his district alone has 400 National Guard troops stationed at local high schools and ready to respond. . In Florida, 50,000 linemen are preparing to respond.
But Steube said law enforcement officials won't be able to respond until the storm passes.
“We have a lot of people, but it's not safe to go out until this storm passes,” Steube said. “And that's the challenge for people who don't follow evacuation orders and think they can withstand. If you're on the coast, you can't withstand 12 to 15 feet of storm surge.”
“So we hope this is a rescue operation and not finding people who died because their homes were flooded,” Steube said Thursday, referring to the immediate recovery effort. “But we certainly have the resources on the ground to respond quickly.”
The storm made landfall Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Florida, in Sarasota County, about 8 miles west of Sarasota. The storm is expected to cross central Florida and emerge on the East Coast Thursday morning.
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