Gov. DeSantis gives glimmer of hope to Pasco communities

HUDSON, Fla. (WFLA) — There is a glimmer of hope in the Pasco County communities heavily destroyed by Hurricane Helene.

City, county, and state leaders have been working around the clock to bring necessities to those who are still without power and water. Some neighbors on the coast haven’t had a shower in days.

“We jumped in the canal and got wet,” said Fred Swisher, Pasco County neighbor. “But that’s nasty water in there.”

Comfort stations are a sight for sore, tired eyes in Pasco County. The county currently has two comfort stations open on Sunday, Sept. 29 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. New Port Richey also has one set up from 8 a.m.. to 6 p.m.

8 On Your Side asked Swisher and his friend Chris Conrad what they came to get from the Hudson Library.

“Some food and water, and a shower.”

Long-awaited resources are here and more are being promised by Gov. DeSantis himself.

Many impacted by Hurricane Helene followed DeSantis as he walked through Ross Yerger’s home off of U.S. 19 and Sea Ranch Drive in Hudson.

“Even if I never see him again, this alone was comforting and realizing that there’s someone working on this already,” said Yerger.

DeSantis saw the high water lines and the furniture outside every home. He said the state would be a part of the road to recovery.

“We are bringing our first round of travel trailers for people to live in while repairs are being made on their homes,” said DeSantis.

DeSantis said hundreds of the trailers are already here and hundreds more are coming.

The hope is that soon, neighbors like Swisher and Conrad will have less to worry about as they pick up the pieces of what used to hold their lives together.

“It’s been four days since I had a hot shower,” said Conrad.

“A hot shower. We’ve been squirting off with a hose but it ain’t like the good hot shower. There’s just nothing like it,” said Swisher.

In a press conference on Sunday, DeSantis said utility crews expect power in Pasco County to be restored by Sunday night. However, he said some people may have damage to their individual electrical systems and may still be without power.

As of Sunday morning, there are about 227,000 Florida residents without power, and power has been restored to more than 2.1 million customers.

DeSantis said some trailers would be brought into areas across the state so people affected have somewhere to stay while they repair their homes.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said individual FEMA assistance is available at disasterassistance.gov . He also urged people to take photos of their damage before cleaning up, including photos of the high water marks.

“Don’t let scammers come around and try to take advantage of you,” Guthrie said.

Suspicious activity should be reported to law enforcement.

“It takes all of us to look out for all of us,” he said.

Officials said debris, like furniture or vegetation, should be separated at the curb to help make cleanup faster.

Those cleaning up should not try to do something they don’t know how to do, Guthrie said.

DeSantis noted that Florida would be sending some air resources that aren’t needed in Florida at the moment to help with rescues in western North Carolina, which has seen devastating flooding from Helene.

The state may also deploy some of its Starlink internet to North Carolina if it’s not needed in Florida.

“Keep those folks in your thoughts and prayers,” DeSantis said.

There have been a number of Helene-related deaths in Florida, but there have been no confirmed deaths in Taylor County, where the hurricane made landfall, as of Sunday morning, according to DeSantis.

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