Hello. Welcome to the state of emergency. We’re Grist reporters Jake Bittle and Ayurella Horn Muller. We’ve been traveling up and down the Florida Gulf Coast for the past week covering the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, which devastated much of the Southeast. More than 100 people were killed, but this is probably a gross undercount.
As I drove around, stopping in seven rural towns destroyed by the storm, I kept coming across one man. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent the next few days addressing the full courtroom about the disaster response. storm.
Helen was the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the Big Bend region. Many homes were destroyed in Horseshoe Beach, a rural community along the northwestern coast of Florida.
Jake Bittle / Grist
The hurricane DeSantis had to weather during his second and final term as governor was no Helen. But the Category 4 storm is the first major hurricane DeSantis has faced since his short-lived presidential bid. It is also the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the Big Bend region. With only two years left in his term and likely to run for president again in the future, how DeSantis responds to Herren could determine whether he wins the 2028 Republican nomination. It can make a big difference in whether you get it or not.
This may explain why the governor, in his first public appearance after the storm, avoided questions about the role climate change might play in bringing more frequent and powerful hurricanes to the region. This approach clearly contradicts his previous messages on the subject. Earlier this summer, he passed a bill that would remove most references to climate change from state law, rescind emissions reduction targets from energy policy, and ban local governments from restricting natural gas use and other mitigation measures. Without, denied many times Human-induced global warming is making hurricanes more powerful. In fact, after Hurricane Idalia in 2023, he told Fox News: And it’s not. ”
“There’s no need to speculate as to why the storms have been here in the last year and a half or so.”
— Ron DeSantis, when asked about the relationship between climate change and hurricanes in his state.
“I’m going to refrain from speculating about why these storms have been here over the last year and a half or so,” DeSantis said Saturday at a news conference in Dekle Beach. “Nobody wanted to be in this situation. I have no explanation whatsoever as to why storms hit this particular part of Florida for a year and a half. The thing is, there’s work to be done, so we’re going to get back to the business of doing it.”
The next day, Mr. DeSantis reappeared in the nearby town of Suwanee and met with local officials at a Baptist church. Afterwards, he helped volunteers hand out barbecue to local residents, first praying that Florida would not be hit by another storm. While scooping pulled pork, Mr. DeSantis occasionally requested support for efforts to reject the Fourth Amendment, a ballot measure enshrining abortion rights. Most of the people who received the food greeted us warmly, saying, “Thank you for everything you do for us,” and “We love you.”
However, not everyone was completely satisfied with the governor’s response. As Mr. DeSantis turned to leave, a Suwanee resident named Billy Minkus approached him and implored him to pay more attention to the area’s poorest residents. He said he needed help because he had just evacuated from a flooded home. Mr. DeSantis responded by promising that the state would provide help to repair the home.
“I like the guy. I’m glad he’s governor, but I’m tired of this little guy being watched,” Minkus told Jake after the fact. “I hope he will listen to us.”
By then, the governor’s motorcade was already roaring toward the highway, kicking up dust as it went.
What happened to Helen in North Carolina?
As of Monday, flooding and landslides caused by Helen had caused deaths. At least 47 in North Carolina The damage caused was devastating and is still being counted. Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is no stranger to storms, having dealt with two 500-year floods and a 1,000-year flood in the past two years alone. At an event last week at the New York Times building in New York City, Mr. Cooper spoke with a resigned, resigned air about the coming storm.
“Helen, we’re approaching a state of emergency in the Gulf, so we’re going to go back and declare a state of emergency in North Carolina,” he said last Wednesday, the day before Helen made landfall. “It’s going to rain heavily in our mountains, and we have to deal with it.”
Heavy rains from Hurricane Helen left about 6 feet of debris piled up on a bridge in Lake Lure, North Carolina.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Hurricane Helen is shaping up to go down in North Carolina history as one of the deadliest storms the state has ever experienced, and it is clear that Hurricane Helen will go down in North Carolina history as one of the deadliest storms the state has ever experienced, and is one of the storms Governor Cooper faced during his seven-year term as governor. By far, it was one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history. .
“I think people along the East Coast of North Carolina are listening to the issues around climate change and how we need to respond to these storms,” Cooper told the Times. It remains to be seen whether similar political change will occur in the western part of the state, which was hardest hit by hurricane flooding.
— Zoya Theierstein
what we are reading
Florida Flood Capital: Jake reported from Shore Acres, a low-lying area of St. Petersburg that has flooded dozens of times in the past few years. Helen caused historic storm surge in the neighborhood, further deteriorating the area’s real estate market and potentially forcing homes to be sold. 
read more
Big Bend’s forgotten towns: Jake and Ayurella accompany the fire chief from the rural town of Inglis as he investigates the damage caused by Helen. The small town of Big Bend was hit by three storms in 13 months and often lacks the ability to rebuild after major disasters. read more
Congress puts pennies into FEMA: The emergency bill Congress passed last week to avert a government shutdown did not include a planned $10 billion cash injection to FEMA, E&E News reported. Government agencies have already cut all non-emergency programs as a key relief fund is running low and could run out of money by the end of the year. read more
As stated in the climate change battlefield: Passing climate change policy is another thing. Protecting them from Republican-led opposition is another challenge. As climate change is drawn into the climate culture wars, changing political winds could jeopardize existing efforts to reduce emissions. Our colleague Kate Yoder writes about key states whose upcoming elections will determine whether or not important climate change policies become reality.read more
Reforming disaster relief: On opposite sides of the political spectrum, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz collaborated on a bill that would reform how FEMA distributes disaster aid. Perhaps most notably, communities will be able to qualify for aid based on the cumulative damage they suffer from several smaller disasters. At this time, these communities often do not receive assistance from FEMA to rehouse displaced persons or rebuild public infrastructure.read more
