As Hurricane Milton grows into a massive Category 5 storm, the White House has ready redeployed resources to Milton is expected to strike.
Here is what has already been put into place according to a White House Fact Sheet:
Pre-Positioning Resources and Personnel
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is flying Hurricane Hunters into the current storm to gather data to models and help hone prediction of the storm’s track and timing.
FEMA has pre-staged personnel and resources in Florida and the region, including six FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams, five FEMA Urban Search & Rescue teams, three U.S. Coast Guard Swift Water Rescue teams, four HealthCare System Assessment Teams, two U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) temporary power teams, USACE debris experts, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and wastewater experts, 300 ambulances and 30 High Water Vehicles with ladders from the Department of Defense.
Additionally, FEMA has two incident staging bases with commodities including food and water. Right now, FEMA currently has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water in the pipeline to deploy as needed used to address ongoing Helene and Milton response efforts with capacity to expand as needed.
Currently, a total of nearly 900 staff are already supporting recovery efforts based out of the Joint Field Office in Tallahassee and operating across the designated counties for hurricanes Helene, Debby and Idalia. This includes over 440 supporting Hurricane Helene recovery, over 300 supporting Hurricane Debby recovery, and over 100 supporting Hurricane Idalia recovery.
Expediting Debris Removal in Florida
Debris remaining from the impacts of Hurricane Helene poses additional threats to lives and livelihoods if another storm occurs. FEMA is supporting the State of Florida to expedite the removal of debris from Hurricane Helene in the Tampa region in advance of Hurricane Milton’s landfall.
FEMA is providing all flexibility available for reimbursement for debris removal activities, to help the State take whatever action is required to speed debris removal before Milton’s landfall. To that end, FEMA is supporting Florida in surging additional resources to the Tampa area to get as much debris picked up as possible. State-run debris management sites are open 24 hours a day, and contracted trucks can deliver debris to those sites around the clock.
The Governor of Florida has additionally activated 4,000 State active-duty National Guard, many of whom will help with debris removal.
Pre-Landfall Preparations Supplement Ongoing Helene Response
The Administration continues to mobilize a whole-of-government response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. Yesterday, President Biden ordered another 500 active-duty troops with advanced technological assets to move into Western North Carolina and assist with the response and recovery efforts. With a total of 1,500 troops now supplementing a robust on-the-ground effort – including more than 6,100 National Guards and more than 7,000 Federal personnel – the Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding.
The Administration has already helped thousands of Hurricane Helene survivors jumpstart their recoveries with more than $210 million in Federal assistance – and there is more to come. Over the last several days, the Administration has contacted nearly 450 state, city, and county officials in impacted States to ensure they have the support and resources they need. To date, FEMA has shipped over 15.6 million meals, more than 13.9 million liters of water, more than 505,000 tarps to the region, and installed 157 generators at critical facilities such as hospitals and water treatment plants.
As President, Trump tried to deny disaster to relief to places that didn’t vote for him. Biden and Democrats understand that being an officeholder means representing all of the constituents, not just the ones that voted for you.
Ron DeSantis has refused to speak to VP Harris, but residency in petty partisan politics has not hindered the preparations for Milton that are ongoing as the region recovers from Hurricane Helene.
With conspiracy theories and misinformation being spread by the right, it is important to know what the federal government is really doing to protect and support the American people during this devastating hurricane season.
To comment on this story, join us on Reddit.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association