Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican-FL) expressed his gratitude to three southern governors at Wednesday’s press briefing for their support of Florida during Hurricane Ian.

The powerful Category 4 hurricane that swept through the state’s southwest on Wednesday afternoon was a devastating hurricane. It knocked out power to over 1 million Floridians. Hurricane Ian, which initially reached winds of up to 155 mph when it made landfall in the state, is now tied as the fourth strongest hurricane to hit the state.

DeSantis stated at the press conference, “I want to express my gratitude to the 26 states who have supported us, including Tennessee and Virginia, Montana, New York City, Colorado, and Indiana. New Jersey, New Jersey, New York, New York, Colorado, Indiana, and Georgia.” “I spoke to Kay Ivy, from Alabama. She’s supporting and sending some Blackhawk helicopters down for help. Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee quickly processed the request from Tennessee. We are grateful for that.”

DeSantis also expressed gratitude to the Democratic governor of Louisiana for all the help he has given to Florida.

DeSantis stated that he was also able to talk with John Bel Edwards, Louisiana. They’ve been very helpful to us. But he also said that they’ve had a lot of experience with hurricanes in recent years so these guys were good. We would like to send more.

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According to the National Hurricane Center, a “catastrophic surge inundation of 12-18 above ground level” and damaging waves are expected along the southwest Florida coast. The bulletin stated that wind speeds of up to 155 mph were already causing “catastrophic winds damage”. Officials stated that the storm was a “life-threatening” situation and advised that people should take all precautions to prevent damage to property and lives from rising waters.

DeSantis warned earlier in the day that residents in Charlotte, Lee, Collier, and Sarasota counties, if they chose to ignore evacuation orders, could no longer safely evacuate and they needed to prepare themselves for a bumpy ride.

“It’s impossible to evacuate safely if you are located in one of these counties,” DeSantis stated, “It was time to prepare for the storm and to get comfortable.” “This is going be a very bad day. It will last for two days. It will get worse quickly. Please be patient and hunker down.”