DeSantis urges Floridians to prepare for 'nasty' hurricane

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday warned residents of his state to heed officials’ warnings immediately to begin preparing for what he described as a “nasty” major hurricane that is expected to hit Florida early Wednesday. 

At a press conference Monday morning, DeSantis provided an update on Tropical Storm Idalia’s trajectory and the state’s preparation efforts, while stressing to residents the importance of using Monday and the beginning of Tuesday to prepare for the storm’s impact.

“Today, you have time to do what you need to do. You'll have some time tomorrow, too, Tuesday. As we get later in the day, you're going to start seeing potential impacts – wind and some rain and whatnot. So just understand that that's what it's looking like,” he said at the press conference. 

“I think as we get into the late Tuesday, early Wednesday, it's going to start to get really nasty, and, of course, they're anticipating a landfall sometime Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon. So you have time to make the preparations, you have time to do what you need to do to protect yourself and your family,” DeSantis continued. 

DeSantis warned that Idalia is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, but he noted that the storm originally was expected to be a tropical storm or Category 1 hurricane, so “there really doesn't seem anything to prevent it from continuing to strengthen.”

“This is going to be a major impact. And Floridians should expect that this storm will be a major Cat 3-plus hurricane, so please prepare accordingly,” he said. 

DeSantis noted at the press conference that he had expanded the state of emergency he issued to cover an additional 13 counties, bringing the total number to 46 counties under a state of emergency. He told counties to request aid from the state immediately, cautioning that waiting until several hours before the storm hits will make it difficult to deliver the aid in time.

He also said many Floridians, especially along the coast, should expect to get evacuation orders, which will apply “probably from Pinellas, maybe even Manatee, all the way up through the Big Bend.”

DeSantis said the evacuation orders don’t mean Floridians need to flee the state, but they should seek shelter somewhere with higher ground. 

“Keep in mind, if you're told to evacuate, you do not need to drive hundreds of miles. You do not need to leave the state of Florida. You basically need to go to higher ground. In almost every instance, you can go tens of miles to a shelter, to a hotel, to a friend's house, whatever works for you, and you'll be able to ride out the storm,” DeSantis said. “The key is to not be in those areas that are going to be hit with big-time storm surge and that are going to potentially have life-threatening situations.”

He said families on the coast should expect school closures in the coming days, though he said those decisions would be made on a district-by-district level. 

“If you are in the path of this storm anywhere on that Gulf Coast from the Tampa Bay area all the way up to Franklin County in Northwest Florida, just prepare for major impacts.”