Hurricane Irma recovery could require 11 million meals, and more
With the arrival of what is potentially one of the most devastating storms to ever hit Florida, officials have set aside 3.2 million liters -- 0.85 million gallons -- of water, filled 67 trailers with meals, and amassed 24,000 tarps. They also have asked the federal government to kick in 11 million meals and millions more liters of water, plus nearly 700 cases of baby supplies.
When it is finally safe for emergency officials to fan out across the peninsula, they will find out whether that is enough.
Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday morning with top sustained winds of 130 mph. While the projected track showed Irma raking the state's Gulf Coast, forecasters warned that the entire Florida peninsula -- including the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people -- was in extreme danger from the monstrous storm, almost 400 miles wide. Nearly 7 million people in the Southeast were warned to get out of the storm's path, including 6.4 million in Florida alone.
A weary Gov. Rick Scott, who has flown across the state during the past five days sounding the alarm bell ahead of landfall, acknowledged that it won't be easy for residents in the days ahead. Florida has long dealt with hurricanes, including a stretch of eight hurricanes in two years while Jeb Bush was governor, but Irma's wide reach has proved daunting.
"I don't think anybody alive today in this state has ever seen anything like this," Scott said at the state's emergency operations center when the first parts of the storm started to cross into the Florida Keys.
More than 1 million residents had already lost power by Sunday morning, and it could be days before officials can provide food and water to those struggling in the aftermath of the powerful storm.
Florida has already spent $77 million ahead of Irma's arrival. Scott called up 7,000 National Guardsmen who have been sent across the state, including dispatching them to some of the more than 400 shelters that have been set up.
Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams located in Orlando and other staging areas were waiting out the storm until it was safe enough to go out and assess the extent of the damage and injuries. One of the teams was preparing to fly into Key West, directly in the path of the storm.
There is "virtually no part of Florida that is not going to be impacted by the storm," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said Sunday on "Face the Nation."
"This is a very unique storm because of its size and scope," he said. "You usually are able to say that there's some safe place in the state that you can go to. In this particular case, virtually the entire state is being impacted by the storm."
Rubio urged people to listen to local officials.
"If you are in one of the storm surge areas, it is important for you -- there's still a chance to get out, to heed those warnings," he said. "This is not going to turn, it's not going anywhere else, it's coming in the next few hours. You're probably feeling the effects of it already."
The challenges in the immediate aftermath of the storm will be many: Restoring across the state, removing debris from roads, dealing with possible fuel shortages, and making sure nursing home and hospital patients who were evacuated can safely return. State officials are also fearful the massive rain that was soaking the state could also lead to flash floods.
Scott said that he knows many Floridians want to resume their normal lives as soon as possible. But he acknowledged that may not happen soon.
"Florida will get through this," he said. "You've got to be patient."