Duval Times

FORT MYERS, Fla. – On August 5, 2024, Senator Rick Scott joined local officials and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to survey the impacts of Hurricane Debby and receive updates on response and recovery efforts. Prior to Debby's landfall on Monday morning, Senator Scott communicated with sheriffs across Florida regarding storm preparedness and response. In the coming days, he plans to visit affected areas to meet with local leaders and ensure that Florida’s families and communities receive necessary resources for recovery.

Senator Rick Scott stated, “Hurricane Debby brought significant storm surge, intense rainfall, and massive flooding to families in coastal and inland communities from Southwest Florida up through the Big Bend. I want to thank Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and his deputies for working around the clock to ensure residents in Lee County have what they need following this storm, especially as they are working to recover from past storms like Hurricane Ian. The damage we saw here in Lee County will make the long road to recovery from Ian even tougher, and I won’t stop fighting to make sure families here have what they need to get back on their feet."

Scott continued, “Last week, I met with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell in Washington to discuss hurricane preparedness and will be working closely with her and the FEMA Region 4 team to ensure Florida has a reliable federal partner as work begins to respond to and recover from Hurricane Debby. As I always say, you can rebuild your home, but you can’t rebuild your life. Stay safe and follow the directions of local authorities. If there is one thing I know, it is that Floridians are resilient and we will get through this together.”

Over the weekend before Hurricane Debby made landfall, Senator Scott and Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of the State of Florida’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration. The request was quickly approved following their outreach.