Thousands of search and rescue and emergency personnel are standing by around Florida waiting for Hurricane Michael to pass before jumping into recovery operations.
Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott took to Twitter Wednesday, informing Floridians in the path of the storm that 1,000 search and rescue workers and 3,500 Florida National Guard Troops are ready to act after the hurricane.
As soon as Michael passes, we have a massive wave of response and support coming down and around the Panhandle, including more than 1,000 search and rescue personnel and 3,500 @FLGuard troops.
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) October 10, 2018
For Florida residents living in the state’s panhandle who have not evacuated, the time to get out of the hurricane’s path has passed, Scott tweeted Wednesday morning. The “worst storm that the FL panhandle has seen in over a century” is hours from landfall and people in the storm’s path should focus on finding cover, Scott said. (RELATED: Florida’s Politicians Take The Airwaves By Storm As Hurricane Michael Approaches)
This is the worst storm that the FL Panhandle has seen in over a century. I cannot stress enough, no matter where you are in the Panhandle, it is time to find shelter. See my latest update on Hurricane Michael- https://t.co/aPoLqnUg5S pic.twitter.com/TiF6YEFE0r
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) October 10, 2018
Hurricane Michael is swirling with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour and heavy rain. The storm will slam the coast of Florida with up to 12 feet of storm surge that could carry inland for miles across the low-lying areas.
Nine major hurricanes have hit Florida in the past 167 years, but none made landfall as a Category 4 storm as Michael is expected to do early Wednesday afternoon.
After hitting Florida, Michael is expected to trace a path up toward North Carolina and South Carolina before it heads out to the Atlantic Ocean. Both states are still recovering from Hurricane Florence, which hit in September.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.