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DeSantis launches Operation Blue Ridge to aid other storm-ravaged southern states

September 30, 2024 | | Print Article

Stepping up to do “more than the President of the United States,” America’s Governor announced the launch of Operation Blue Ridge to expand hurricane recovery efforts beyond Florida.

Living up to his moniker, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ exemplary record as a public servant found him once again stepping into a leadership role when disaster struck. After previously aiding with crises like the wide-open southern border and bringing Americans home from war-torn Israel, a multi-state agency plan announced Sunday was met with praise.

“If we can bring people back from Israel by the hundreds when Hamas is raining rockets down, we should be able to get some helos into the Blue Ridge mountains and get some people out of there,” the governor told the press Monday while meeting with devastated residents in Steinhatchee, Florida.

According to the release on Operation Blue Ridge, after their own “strong disaster preparation and efficient response efforts…made it possible to provide much-needed assistance to other states,” DeSantis called for the coordinated efforts of his state’s Division of Emergency Management, State Guard, National Guard, Department of Transportation, Fish and Wildlife Commission, Law Enforcement Coordination Task Force as well as a Law Enforcement Strike Team.

As the social media account Frog Capital put it, “I told you no one was better at rescue than our guys. They’re about to prove it.”

In addition to deploying teams for incident management, search and rescue, and telecommunications emergency response with tens of thousands of gallons of water and a fleet of vehicles, a portal was opened for any Floridians in Western North Carolina and beyond to be aided by the state if they were in need of rescue.

Under his leadership, the governor boasted that, as of Sunday night, the power had been restored for 2.3 million people amounting to 99% of the state’s energy being turned back on.

Ever-present ahead of, throughout, and after the storm where the death toll continued to rise across the Southeast, DeSantis’ handling of the disaster stood in stark contrast to President Joe Biden and his wannabe successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the former had retreated to the beach for yet another getaway, and the latter had traveled to the other side of the country to fundraise as part of her effort for a promotion.

While they had each announced plans to visit the region only after former President Donald Trump made clear his decision to help facilitate the distribution of relief supplies, the Biden-Harris administration’s past failures, namely Hawaii and East Palestine, Ohio, were viewed as prologue to how hurricane victims would be treated by the federal government.

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh praised the governor, “Ron DeSantis is doing more than the President of the United States to help flood victims in North Carolina. A great credit to DeSantis, but a damning indictment of the Biden-Harris administration.”

Kevin Haggerty
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