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Gov Scott Urges Vigilance As Hurricane Maria Thrashes Caribbean

Governor Rick Scott visiting Collier County after Hurricane Irma.
Governor's Press Office
Governor Rick Scott visiting Collier County after Hurricane Irma.
Governor Rick Scott visiting Collier County after Hurricane Irma.
Credit Governor's Press Office
Governor Rick Scott visiting Collier County after Hurricane Irma.

Florida is still dusting itself off after the Hurricane Irma, but Governor Rick Scott is encouraging Floridians to stay prepared.

Some Floridians are still waiting for power—particularly in Highlands, Lee, Collier and Monroe counties.  Statewide, about two percent of accounts don’t have electricity.  Governor Scott warns there could be more storms coming.

“The big thing now is let’s all remember we’re in hurricane season,” Scott says.  “This is going on for another couple months.”  

“So don’t take this for granted that we’re not—just because we had one, we’re not going to get another one.”

Hurricane Maria is barreling through the Caribbean, and it could hit Puerto Rico Wednesday.  Early forecasts suggest the storm will turn away from Florida, but Scott notes Irma’s path diverged from projections.

“Right now it appears the path is going east of Florida,” he says, “but let’s all remember that when Irma started it was supposed to hit our east coast.  And so let’s all make sure we all keep watching this and everybody get prepared.”

Maria could bring very heavy rain to the islands in its path.   Forecasts suggest isolated areas of Puerto Rico could see more than two feet of precipitation.

Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.