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U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined The Sean Hannity Show to discuss the latest on Hurricane Ian.
On extreme storm surge in Fort Myers:
“That’s how it’s been in southwest Florida. Byron Donalds, the congressman from that area, is posting some videos as well that people are sending him. Really stunning things. I spoke to the governor last night, and at the time, the storm was forecast to be a certain way. It has gotten worse since I spoke to him, in terms of his expectations and everybody else’s. It is going to hit Category 5. And that’s just the wind, the power that it’s generating.
“This is a massive storm. It goes from coast to coast. It really is pushing inland…. There’s a lot of rain being dumped on central Florida, and then a lot of rain, wind, and storm surge hitting southwest Florida…. There’s a lot of people in harm’s way right now. I hope everyone’s being safe….”
On other weather events associated with the storm:
“I’m getting tornado warnings. I’m in southeast Florida. They’re real. Last night, they just flipped a couple airplanes at an airport down here. There’s lightning associated with this, which is something you don’t normally see in these storms…. And then tropical storm winds. These are 50, 60 miles an hour wind gusts that can blow things that will fall on people….
“I just got off the phone with the FEMA director and we talked a little bit about debris removal. There is a lot that goes into getting in there now and moving stuff off the street, just so the workers can get in there. We are grateful for all the crews that have come in and are positioned and ready to go. These things are going to be going on for about 24 to 48 hours over the state of Florida before we actually get into some of these spots and start doing things.
“I’ve been through a lot of [hurricanes] here in Florida, but this one is unique in both power and scale.”
On the danger posed by the hurricane:
“This has only just started to happen. I think, unfortunately, if some people are in danger at this point, their ability to reach out may be quite limited. We know that there’ve been some emergency calls now made, but we’re just at the beginning of this thing. I mean, we’re going to be hearing [about this] throughout the night….
“The problem with this storm is that [it will affect] so many different communities. It’s ranging from southwest Florida all the way to northeast Florida, all of which are going to get pretty substantial damage….
“It looks like the majority of the people who were asked to leave the low-lying areas did so. Unfortunately, there are some people that did not. We’re worried about them and how long it will take to get to them, because it’ll be a while before crews can actually operate safely out there.
“Here’s the saddest thing, and I say this without any sort of glee at all, whatsoever. There are people who are alive this morning who are going to lose their lives in the storm, for a lot of different reasons. They’re going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…. And also in the aftermath, there’s tremendous danger in the aftermath…. They’re out there doing work and trying to move things on their own, and they get hurt doing it that way. And we certainly don’t want to see that happen. We want to minimize that as much as possible.
“But right now, we’re just focused on this storm surge event and, if there are people that can still move…, convincing them to do so, because we don’t want anyone to lose their lives over this….”
On where Floridians can get help:
“We will be posting information on [rubio.senate.gov] regularly…. This is just an effort to communicate with people broadly. A lot of people are going to be cut off from communication here shortly. If they don’t have electricity, but if their mobile phones are still working, they can access this….
“There will be people that will not have a home to go back to. They’re going to need assistance. And that’s what FEMA, and the SBA for small businesses, do. And my office has always been able to be on the ground right away, as soon as it’s safe to do so, helping people to process those claims and try to get them assistance in the first weeks after a storm like this. Because there will be lives that’ll be disrupted and changed as a result of it.
“But right now, the key is saving lives. Get out of the way and you still can. If you’re not, find shelter and make the best of it at this point, because the storm is here…, and we’ve only seen the beginning.”