How Florida wildlife is faring after Hurricane Ian
A young man clears a road of debris as heavy rain continues to fall in Pensacola, Fla.
Rene Rodriguez/AP
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The hurricane has wreaked havoc on the Florida gulf coast. For several days, residents have sought shelter, with some relocating to neighboring states, such as North Carolina. But that hasn’t stopped the rain – or the damage. Some areas may never recover.
Hurricane Michael’s strength was enough to nearly knock out power to large swaths of Florida’s Gulf coast, according to Reuters.
Hurricane Michael: Power in Florida will be restored by Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday. By then, some of the region’s biggest cities may not have power for days. The storm took out power to almost 1 million residences and businesses from Palm Beach to Jacksonville, but it is unclear whether some in those areas had their electricity restored yet.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the recovery effort will be a long one.
Hurricane Michael: Governor Rick Scott said Tuesday that he expects to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday and request federal assistance.
“Hopefully, we will be able to get through that as quick as possible,” Scott said Tuesday as he toured the storm’s aftermath. “And then we’ll have to consider how to rebuild what was lost.”
Gov. Scott said he doesn’t know if he can rebuild what was lost, but he is optimistic.
Michael’s winds have reduced the size of the storm. It was downgraded from a Category 4 on Monday to a Category 3 on Tuesday.
But Michael will not be the last catastrophic storm to strike Florida. Storm-related deaths already have outnumbered Florida’s total fatalities from all natural causes. It took a natural disaster to get the issue in front of the public eye, but now the problem is spreading.
This was the second of three major hurricanes to strike the state’s east coast late Wednesday. Michael dumped 10 inches of rain on the panhandle area, killing one person and causing injuries in six in a vehicle rollover.
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