Biden Says ‘We Are on Alert’ Ahead of Hurricane Ian Landfall

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the federal government is “on alert and in action” as major Hurricane Ian is slated to hit Florida later in the afternoon.

“We have approved every request Florida has made for temporary assistance, emergency assistance, and long-term assistance,” he said, adding that “hundreds of FEMA personnel” and thousands of National Guard members have been dispatched to the Sunshine State. A search and rescue team is currently on the ground, the president said.

Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, spoke on Tuesday night, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“President Biden spoke this evening with Governor DeSantis of Florida to discuss the steps the Federal government is taking to help Florida prepare for Hurricane Ian,” Jean-Pierre wrote on Twitter. “The President and the Governor committed to continued close coordination.”

Both Biden and DeSantis on Wednesday, during separate events, warned that people should heed local officials’ warnings and directions.

“This storm is incredibly dangerous, to state the obvious. It’s life-threatening. You should obey all warnings and directions from emergency officials. Don’t take anything for granted. Use their judgment, not yours. Evacuate when ordered. Be prepared,” he said Wednesday.

The federal government, Biden added, will be there to help rebuild areas that were devastated by Hurricane Ian.

DeSantis said that because of Ian’s close proximity to the western Florida coastline, people in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, and Sarasota counties were no longer safe to evacuate. He urged residents to get off the roads and stay inside.

“You need to get to higher ground, you need to get to structures that are safe,” DeSantis said, adding that widespread power outages would leave millions without electricity once the storm strikes. Ian is likely to make its first landfall in Charlotte County, he said, while the National Hurricane Center (NHC) models show