Floridians flock to stores, begin preparations for Dorian as governor declares state of emergency

As Dorian looms, hurricane preparation efforts in Florida have ramped up significantly. Businesses, communities and residents are buckling down for the incoming impacts of the season’s first major hurricane.

In typical fashion, grocery store shelves have been picked clean with shoppers gathering up every last supply before hunkering down. Batteries, paper towels, alcohol and, of course, bottled water were on everybody’s list.

At a Costco in Miami, shoppers were prohibited from buying more than four cases of water.

Gas stations have seen lines extend down the streets as residents fear similar gasoline shortages that plagued the state during Hurricane Irma in 2017. During the preparation for Irma, 58% of stations ran out of gasoline in Gainesville, Florida, according to GasBuddy.

A few aircraft are even being evacuated from MacDill Air Force Base ahead of Hurricane Dorian, relocating to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, according to WFLA. At the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, aircraft have been ordered to evacuate or be secured in hangars ahead of Dorian.

In a press conference on Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order that expanded the state of emergency to include all 67 counties in Florida. A state of emergency has also been declared in North Carolina and parts of Georgia.

“That is to assist in preparation efforts,” DeSantis said. “One of the things that a state of emergency allows us to do is to get more fuel into the gas stations … We’ve heard reports of there being fuel shortages already in places like Brevard County, this executive order allows more of that fuel to come.”

Gas shortages were an issue in Florida during Hurricane Irma's approach in 2017. During his press conference on Friday, DeSantis further addressed some of these concerns.

“Fuel is an issue. There’s gas stations that have run out of fuel. We in the emergency declaration waived service and truck rates for fuel trucks so we can increase the capacity that’s being brought in," DeSantis said. "We’re also going to be, starting today, implementing Florida highway patrol escorts for fuel trucks so we can facilitate refueling in critical parts of the state. Some parts of the state you have cars lined up, it makes it more difficult for the trucks to get in and replenish the supply so we think those escorts will help with that.”

On Friday night, Brevard County issued a mandatory evacuation order ahead of Dorian, just a few minutes after Dorian was declared a Category 4 storm.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and DeSantis have both spoken with President Donald Trump in recent days. On Twitter, DeSantis said Trump reassured him that Florida would have the necessary support that the state needs.

Scott served as Florida's governor during Irma two years ago and Hurricane Michael in 2018. He said he was also in touch with Vice President Mike Pence, Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to discuss the federal government's response to Dorian.

Thursday afternoon, DeSantis announced that 2,500 members of the Florida National Guard had been activated, with an additional 1,500 on standby.

"I spoke with President Trump yesterday and he assured me that the federal government would be with me every step of the way, supporting us in any way that they can," DeSantis said during the press conference. "I've also spoken with the acting FEMA director and he assured me that they're going to be working closely with us."

President Trump announced on Thursday afternoon that he will not be traveling to Poland this weekend as he had originally planned due to Hurricane Dorian.

"To ensure that all resources of the federal government are focused on the arriving storm, I have decided to send our Vice President Mike Pence to Poland this weekend in my place," Trump announced on Thursday. "It's something very important for me to be here. This storm looks like it could be a very, very big one indeed."

DeSantis also requested a pre-landfall declaration from the government, which would provide assistance to residents with direct federal assistance for generators and water pumps.

Residents have filled sand bags and and emergency officials have prepared water pumps for any flooding concerns that may emerge as the storm makes its impact on Monday. In the storms first impacts, Dorian caused widespread power outages in both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, including island-wide blackouts in St. Thomas and Tortola.

In a video posted to his Twitter account on Thursday night, Trump told followers that "we all got lucky it missed Puerto Rico. It hit the Virgin Islands but not as bad as it could have."

He also compared the hurricane's potential power to that of Hurricane Andrew, the Category Five hurricane that blasted Florida in 1992 with 165-mph sustained winds.

"All indications are it's going to hit very hard and it's going to be very big," Trump said. "Somebody said bigger or at least as big as Andrew, and if you remember Andrew from many years ago, that was not good. So just be aware and be safe and God bless you."

DeSantis also warned residents of his state to stay vigilant, telling people that they need to prepare for the worst and assume that if they're affected by the storm, power will be lost.

"The message right now is that all Floridians need to monitor Hurricane Dorian and make the necessary preparations," DeSantis said. "This is a track that has a significant amount of uncertainty ... So really the key is to have your plan and make those preparations right now."

DeSantis reiterated these points on Friday, urging residents to pay attention to upcoming warnings and to properly prepare for the multi-day potential of the storm.

"Floridians need to be prepared. You know, the bad news of the storm going slower is that could potentially have some negative impacts once it reaches landfall but you do have time before it reaches to prepare if you have not done so and so we urge all Floridians to have 7 days worth of food, medicine and water," he said. "This is potentially a multi-day event where it churns slowly across the state. That obviously creates a whole host of issues, But if you’re in an area that has an impact from the storm, you should assume you’re going to lose power. If you’re in an area that flooded during Hurricane Irma and you’re impacted by this you should assume that you’re going to see flooding again after this storm.”

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