Dear Friend,
I am writing this email to you from my home in Orlando where we lost power and are witnessing mass flooding. Evacuations are taking place, but the impact here is nowhere near what we’ve witnessed in Southwest Florida. My heart aches for our state and we are committed to healing and rebuilding together.
With that said, here are quick updates as it pertains to Hurricane Ian.
Deadly Hurricane Ian was downgraded to Tropical Storm Ian on Thursday morning but was still dumping record amounts of rain to bring “catastrophic flooding” across Florida while still packing damaging winds across a 415-mile swath of the state.
Rising floodwaters led to home rescues and stranded vehicles across Central Florida and law enforcement in Volusia County reported the area’s first death while the statewide toll has yet to be determined after hurricane’s storm surge devastated the Gulf Coast.
Click here for recent Flash Flood warnings.
President Biden declared a major disaster for the state, meaning that all federal resources will be available as we work to rebuild.
In the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. update, the system’s center was located in Brevard County about 40 miles east of Orlando moving toward Cape Canaveral at 8 mph with 65 mph sustained winds and higher gusts.
Rain totals approaching 20 inches were forecast across parts of the peninsula prompting flash flood warnings across Central Florida while more than 2.6 million people were without power across the state by 8 a.m.
“Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flooding, with major to record river flooding, will continue today across portions of Central Florida with considerable flooding in northern Florida, southeastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina expected today through the end of the week,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist Robbie Berg.
We ask that unless you have been told to evacuate, that you stay indoors and allow first responders along with power line operators to own the roads. That will not only help to assess impact but will hopefully expedite power being restored.
We also encourage you to follow your local government officials online. We’ll share updates as they are made known, too.
Some folks have asked where they can donate to help. We are currently working to identify local groups who are on the ground in impacted areas and will share once those organizations are confirmed. The one option that does exist is Florida’s Disaster Fund.
Yours in service,
Rep. Anna V. Eskamani