Southwest Florida bore the brunt of Hurricane Ian. So far, 78 Floridians are confirmed to have died, any many more are without power or homes. Tuesday morning, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL-17), whose district took a beating, spoke with Fox and Friends about the aftermath. Steube tweeted the clip a short time later that morning, saying that "the people and places of my district will never be the same again."
The devastation in Southwest Florida is catastrophic. One thing is clear - there are people and places in my district that will never be the same again. pic.twitter.com/FcELZuFqhH
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) October 4, 2022
The hosts say that the reality of suddenly being homeless, possibly for months, must certainly hit hard. Steube says of his constituents that "well, Floridians are resilient, we're obviously used to hurricanes, but certainly not what impacted my district in Southwest Florida."
While describing his tour of the areas hit hardest by Ian, he expresses shock at the volume of devastation in the town of Arcadia, which Gov. Ron DeSantis also visited.
"I was able to tour Hardee County, DeSoto County, and Charlotte County yesterday, and the devastation in Arcadia... we still haven't gotten the floodwaters completely gone and homes yet," said Rep. Steube.
Steube goes into detail about the level of flooding Arcadia experienced, saying that "they're seeing the tops of mobile home trailer that they didn't see a couple of days ago because the floodwaters were that high."
"As a result, he fears the official death toll will only grow higher. "So unfortunately, I think that death count is going to continue as law enforcement is able to get into places that we haven't even been able to physically get into because the water has been so high," continued Steube.
It is acknowledged that Steube's district has one of the highest rates of senior living in the country, meaning many residents are vulnerable. Steube says he hopes many residents heeded the evacuation order, and adds that hospitals, rehab facilities, and nursing homes are able to have power.
"But there are places in my district that will never be the same, and certainly never look the same," Steube concludes.
