After major hurricanes Helene and Milton barreled into the Florida Gulf Coast less than two weeks apart, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that the state will provide $9.5 million to jumpstart storm recovery.
Over half of the investment, $5.5 million, will go to emergency berth repairs with $3.5 million to be used for "immediate security needs and access control" and $500,000 toward plans to fortify port infrastructure for any future hurricanes.
"To minimize impacts to Floridians and to ensure seaport vanity gets back to full and efficient operations as quickly as possible, I'm today announcing that the state of Florida will provide $9.5 million to...help repair the impacted infrastructure," Gov. DeSantis said at a Palmetto press conference Monday afternoon, explaining the money will go to SeaPort Manatee.
He stressed the importance of keeping major SeaPort Manatee open, which was slammed by Hurricane Milton Wednesday night, especially in terms of replenishing depleted fuel supplies.
In addition, he said, the state will also provide "subject matter experts and skilled workers" from the Florida Department of Transportation, expedite permits for rebuilding port infrastructure, and send the Florida National Guard to "reestablish perimeter security" and help with repairs.
Florida ports became a larger part of the political conversation after 45,000 dockworkers from Texas to Maine went on strike five days after Hurricane Helene slammed into the Big Bend as a Category 4 storm. DeSantis blasted the strike as "unacceptable" in the wake of the storm, pointing out the necessity of keeping supply chains intact after a major storm, and threatened to send in the National Guard if the strike continued.
When the longshoremen reached a tentative deal on Oct. 4, agreeing to suspend their strike until Jan. 15 to renegotiate their contracts, some DeSantis allies (and perhaps DeSantis himself) credited the Florida Governor for halting the strike.
Had the strike continued after Helene and through Milton, which hit last week, the situation could have been even more dire. At least 23 Floridians were killed in the storm, and over 4 million lost power. The state has since worked to restore over 3.8 million accounts, meaning "97% of the state is electrified and operational," DeSantis said.
As of 3 p.m., just over 352,000 Floridians are still without power, the majority of which live in Hillsborough County (over 150,000 have no electricity).
