On Wednesday Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Dorian moves out of the Caribbean toward Florida. Thursday in Miami DeSantis insisted the storm could hit the state anywhere along its east coast - and urged Floridians to plan accordingly.
After touring the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Governor DeSantis said weather officials still aren’t sure where Hurricane Dorian will make landfall in Florida. Forecasts show it arriving on the central coast Monday morning – perhaps as strong as Category 4 – and passing across central Florida.
But DeSantis said the models could change significantly over the next few days, especially since a high pressure system to the north could push the storm southward.
“This is a track that has a significant amount of uncertainty," DeSantis told reporters outside the hurricane center. "You could make a case for places like Miami and the Keys to get impacted. You could make a case for it to be northern Florida, obviously central Florida...So really the thing to do is to have a plan [wherever you are] and make those preparations right now."
DeSantis said Florida has requested a pre-landfall declaration from the federal government to help facilitate relief funds more quickly post storm. And he also said President Trump assured him the recent controversial transfer of more than $270 million in federal emergency money to the southern border won’t affect Florida’s hurricane recovery needs.
“[Trump] said, you know, whatever you need, we’re good," DeSantis said. "They have a huge amount of money available…and I’m confident [the controversy] is not going to impact Florida in a negative way.”
DeSantis said Florida will also mobilize the National Guard.
