Florida is making extensive preparations as Hurricane Milton approaches the Central Gulf Coast. Staging and response areas have been established across the state to ensure a swift and effective response once the storm hits on Wednesday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, addressing the media from the Florida Horse Park in Ocala, emphasized the importance of deploying equipment and personnel rapidly post-storm. The Ocala site currently houses a significant amount of equipment, such as bucket trucks, generators, and various vehicles, all ready for deployment.
Over 2,000 pieces of equipment, including pumps, restroom and laundry trailers, forklifts, and air conditioning units, are available on the 500-acre Horse Park property. The site also accommodates more than 400 personnel, including crews and drivers. Fuel trucks are on standby, although specific quantities were not disclosed by the governor.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management is actively involved in dispatching essential resources to counties and staging areas. This includes 'hundreds of thousands' of shelf-stable meals, water bottles, and sandbags. Additionally, the agency has deployed 11,000 feet of temporary dams to safeguard critical infrastructure like hospitals and electrical facilities.
Florida has stockpiled significant fuel supplies in anticipation of potential needs. The state currently has 268,000 gallons of diesel and 110,000 gallons of regular gas readily available. Furthermore, an additional 1.2 million gallons of both diesel and gas are en route to the state to bolster existing reserves.
