Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gives briefing on Hurricane Idalia

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave a briefing on Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday 30 August.

Hurricane Idalia has strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 storm as it barrels towards Florida where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning.

In the briefing, officials warn that emergency services may not be able to reach people in the midst of the storm.

Search and rescue operations are poised and ready to go as soon as the storm passes but – during the storm – residents were urged to look after their families and hunker down in their homes.

“We are here, we are ready. We will deploy recovery teams as soon as we can,” one official said.

Even after the storm passes, Mr DeSantis urged people to proceed with caution.

He urged people not to drive in flooded streets; assume all downed power lines are live and not to misuse generators for risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.