Hurricane Dorian will impact all of Florida, and its residents need to be ready and to prepare for flooding as well as the storm's powerful winds, FEMA acting Administrator Pete Gaynor stressed Friday.
"The best advice I could give residents of Florida and South Georgia is to tune into your local county and state emergency managers," Gaynor told CNN's "New Day."
"They have the best advice for you."
Gaynor said he's most worried about the uncertainty of where Dorian is heading and the potential for catastrophic flooding.
"I think a lot of people believe the wind is the thing that kills people. It's actually flooding," said Gaynor. "Ninety percent of all disaster-related deaths are from flooding ... turn around, don't drown. Don't put yourself, your family, your neighbors in danger. Don't put first responders in danger. Keep yourself safe. The clock is ticking right now. Don't waste time."
Gaynor said Dorian's triple threat — a huge storm surge, the current king tide, and the potential for up to 20 inches of rain — makes preparation and recovery even more difficult.
"The best defense is to prepare," he said. "The hurricane will do what the hurricane does."
People in the line of the storm need to make sure they can be by themselves for three to seven days, said Gaynor, and he urged people to be ready even if they don't live near the coast and to take proactive action to keep themselves and their families safe.
Meanwhile, FEMA is working to move in commodities such as food, water, and generators to make sure it can meet needs.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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