TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – While hundreds of thousands of Floridians are without power, Florida emergency officials said crews are aiming to restore power for those who can receive it by Sunday.
Officials with several agencies, including the Florida Division of Emergency Management, held a news conference Monday morning in Tallahassee to provide an update on Hurricane Ian recovery efforts.
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FDEM director Kevin Guthrie said there are nearly 621,000 customers that are without power as of Monday morning.
“For those that can receive power, for example, they have lines to their home and the infrastructure is still standing, for those that can receive power the estimates are from all of our electrical outlets that they will have restoration done by Sunday of this week. That is a goal that they are trying to hit to have all customers that can receive power by Sunday of this week,” he said.
Guthrie said this estimate does not include areas “catastrophically hit.”
He also urged people to not “disaster sightsee” and avoid areas where first responders are needed to do their jobs.
Officials said the death toll remains at 58 in Florida, with Lee County tallying the most at 42 deaths.
Many areas across the street are dealing with flooding, including Central Florida, and the Florida Highway Patrol is urging drivers to be cautious and avoid travel if possible.
“We still have several roadways that are underwater. Keep in mind that just because of water recedes don’t necessarily mean the roadway is safe to drive alone. There is a high likelihood of washed out so under the asphalt under the roadway. So please don’t try to drive around barricades,” FHP director James Spaulding said.
This news conference comes days after many parts of the state are recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
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