Florida Asks Department of Defense for More Equipment Ahead of Hurricane Ian

Published Sep. 28, 2022, 9:07 a.m. ET | Updated Sep. 28, 2022

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TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – The Florida Division of Emergency Management asked the Department of Defense for more equipment Wednesday morning as Hurricane Ian approaches southwest Florida.

FDEM requested additional airlift hoists and high water vehicles from the Department of Defense in coordination with FEMA.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials held a press conference Wednesday morning warning Floridians to hunker down and prepare for the storm in Southwest Florida. There are thousands of people on standby to help in recovery efforts after the storm.

DeSantis on Major Hurricane Ian Headed to SWFL: ‘Time to Hunker Down’

The Department of Transportation has 1,200 personnel ready to cut and push debris off the roadways and bring in supplies by plan, boat, and high water vehicle.

While state and local officials have urged people in evacuation zones to relocate to higher ground, DeSantis said they have teams staged to help those that end up in harm’s way.

“There’s a lot of assets that are staged and those are going to be deployed, because we want to help people,” he said. “Even if they made a different decision, you know, we’re all in this together. We’re going to do that.”

There are 5,000 Florida guardsmen activated along with 2,000 from neighboring states. Urban search and rescue teams and air assets are stationed in Miami so they can respond to southwest Florida.

Florida Fish and Wildlife is equipped with vehicle, water, and air equipment. The U.S. Coast Guard has stage four cutters and shallow draft vessels ready to provide search and rescue assistance to flooded areas.

In response to the storm, FEMA has staged meals, water, cots, blankets and other supplies at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. There are five FEMA Urban Search & Rescue task forces and a US&R Incident Support Team activated for response. National and regional FEMA Incident Management Teams (IMAT) are in place at the Florida Emergency Operations Center and pre-positioned to support response activities. FEMA has also arranged for the delivery of ambulances, paratransit vehicles and air medical transport to the state.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has pre-positioned two Disaster Medical Task Forces in Georgia, two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers power restoration teams are pre-positioned at Craig Field in Alabama, and the Department of Defense and U.S. Coast Guard have pre-positioned aircraft, boats and high-water vehicles for response.

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