TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida is in charge of storm preparations and recovery when asked to dispel false information about the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA has been fighting online posts and other attacks for nearly two weeks about rescue and recovery operations involving Hurricane Helene, and the misinformation started to spread to steps taken before Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday evening.
Among the misinformation about Milton: FEMA was blocking people from evacuating and hiring armed security to keep people from returning to their homes.
“I think most people are wise to this,” DeSantis said Wednesday during a news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center. “We live in an era where if you put out crap online, you can get a lot of people to share it, and you can monetize it. That just the way it is.”
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He added that, “FEMA is not leading this show. We are leading this show here in Florida.”
DeSantis pointed to an executive order he issued Saturday and said “the default is you have a right to immediately return to your home following the storm.”
In a separate press briefing Wednesday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said a lot of misinformation was spread but that local and state officials had been strong in urging people to get out of harm’s way.
“We’re still seeing some misinformation out there,” Criswell said. “I do believe that the volume of the misinformation is starting to go down, but we need to continue to now remain focused on what our mission is, and that our mission is here to help people.”
President Joe Biden was more direct in the briefing, putting some blame on former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, along with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for “saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather.”
“There’s been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies that are disturbing people,” Biden said. “It’s undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has already been taken and will continue to be taken, and it’s harmful to those who need help the most.”
THE POLITICS OF INSURANCE
Property insurance was already one of the biggest issues in the November elections in Florida. Don’t expect that to change as homeowners recover from the state’s third direct hit from a hurricane this year.
The Florida Democratic Party said Sunday that property insurance remains the top issue for Floridians. Milton came after the massive Helene made landfall Sept. 26 in Taylor County and the smaller Hurricane Debby hit in August.
“As the state prepares for a second major hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast, the property insurance crisis will take center stage as the number one issue for Florida voters in this election,” the party said in a missive to “interested parties.”
As a strategy, the party cited a need to highlight that Congress left supplemental disaster-relief funding out of a government funding bill and that Democratic lawmakers have been “urging Congress” to replenish FEMA’s disaster relief funds.
As of Thursday morning, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website showed an estimated $1.139 billion in insured losses from Helene.
Asked Monday, DeSantis said it was too early to make insurance loss projections from Milton. Along with effects on the private insurance market, the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is Florida’s largest insurer.
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“Helene, I think the reports were that that’s going to be something that can be weathered,” DeSantis said. “Now, of course, the wind damage was a very small portion of the flood damage. Flood damage is a National Flood Insurance Program, so that doesn’t implicate as much Citizens or private carriers.”
On Tuesday, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis estimated potential insurance losses from Milton could be “somewhere north of $10 (billion), maybe $20 billion.”
Global credit-rating agency AM Best cautioned before landfall Wednesday that Milton posed a significant threat to the Florida property insurance market and “the back-to-back punches from hurricanes Helene and Milton could prove too devastating for some.”
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK: “Tonight, I spoke with Florida Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Castor for firsthand reports on Hurricane Helene recovery and preparations for Hurricane Milton. My Administration is ready to support both leaders and the people of Florida with any further resources they may need.” — President Joe Biden (@POTUS).
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