Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, the wife of Gov. Ron DeSantis, said Wednesday that a tree fell on the governor's mansion in Tallahassee while she was home with their children.
She announced the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting a picture of the massive, toppled oak tree that hit the historic mansion as Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the area.
"100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee," Casey DeSantis wrote. "Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured.
"Our prayers are with everyone impacted by the storm," the first lady added.
Ron DeSantis said his wife phoned him about the incident while he was monitoring the storm's devastation at the state's emergency operations center Wednesday evening, the Daily Mail reported.
"I don't know that it fell on, like, the residence per se. I think it was a little bit off to the side," he said. "If they do cut down the whole tree, that's just going to be more room for my kids to hit baseballs."
The Florida governor's mansion, also known as "The People's House," has 30 rooms and 15,000 square feet of living space. It sits on 1.5 acres of land and was built over the original mansion in 1956.
According to CBS News, residents in 28 Florida counties at the highest risk of extreme floods, primarily along the Gulf Coast, were ordered or recommended to evacuate ahead of Idalia this week.
While Idalia, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, has moved from Florida to Georgia, its bands are still impacting the state, and flooding is expected to worsen. Over 250,000 customers are still without power.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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