Florida Sending 10 Truckloads Of Stockpiled Water To Bahamas

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that the state will send 311,000 bottles of stockpiled water to hard-hit areas of the Bahamas that are still reeling from Hurricane Dorian's horrific double blow over Labor Day weekend.

Speaking at the Florida Power & Light Company Command Center in West Palm Beach, DeSantis also said FPL will donate another 279,000 bottles of water for a total of 590,000. The governor highlighted another $11 million in private donations from corporations and individuals with ties to Florida that have been pledged to assist Bahamians. See also Dorian May Be Gone But 2019 Hurricane Season Just Reaches Peak

Florida was spared the catastrophic damage that islands in the Bahamas sustained when the slow-moving storm made two separate landfalls on the islands.

"Just over a week ago, Hurricane Dorian barreled towards our coast and the state of Florida prepared for the worst," DeSantis said. "Although Florida was lucky, we know that our neighbors in the Bahamas bore the brunt of this storm."

Dorian is blamed for 50 deaths in the Bahamas and left thousands more homeless. At least four people died as a result of the storm on the U.S. mainland, including three in Florida and one in North Carolina. Another person died in Puerto Rico.

DeSantis first raised the idea of sending some of Florida's stockpiled disaster supplies to the Bahamas when Dorian first cleared Florida waters last week.

"We have hundreds of thousands of bottles of water for this hurricane season that are going to expire when the hurricane season ends," the governor said at the time. "We're not out of the woods with [this] hurricane season. Obviously, we're at the peak. But there's obviously a chance we don't have a storm and then that water would go to waste."

If Florida does face another hurricane three or four weeks from now, DeSantis said, "We'd be able to backfill that with no problem."

The bottled water being shipped from Florida amounts to 10 truckloads from the Florida Division of Emergency Management and another nine truckloads from FPL.

"These bottles of water are being shipped to Florida ports, from which they will be transported to the Bahamas," according to state officials.

Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management said that water is critical in a disaster like Dorian.

"Clean water will be one of the most important commodities for a community recovering from a disaster of this magnitude and I'm proud that today the division is helping to provide hundreds of thousands of bottles of water for those who are suffering," said Moskowitz.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas John Rood, who is now advising DeSantis on how best to help the Bahamas, said there will be a need for transitional housing in the near future.

“Moving forward, we will be working to establish transitional housing with funds from Florida-based individuals and companies," he said. "For those Bahamians that wish to stay in their communities, these funds will help with their rebuilding efforts.”

The governor highlighted the following private and corporate donations to the Bahamas:

• Delta Airlines has donated $250,000 in addition to their $1 million grant as an Annual Disaster Giving Program partner.

• Tropical Shipping, in partnership with Carnival Corporation and in coordination with the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency, is providing the logistics necessary to transport humanitarian assistance to those in need in the Bahamas.

• TECO is providing more than 250 team members, equipment and humanitarian supplies to assist with power restoration efforts.

• The Florida Beverage Association has secured 50,000 cans of water in coordination with Miller-Coors.

• Verizon customers received unlimited calling and texting data from the U.S. to the Bahamas from September 2 to September 9. Verizon also donated a $100,000 grant to the Miami-Dade United Way.

• Sprint offered all customers in the U.S. free calls to the Bahamas and waive roaming fees for customers in the Bahamas from September 2 to September 9.

• Publix Supermarket Charities has made a $250,000 donation to help fund relief efforts. Publix has also launched a fundraising campaign and in the first five days of their campaign, Publix associates and customers have donated more than $1 million.

• Lennar Corporation, a Miami-based home builder, has committed $1 million and has developed an associate matching program dollar-for-dollar for a total of up to $2 million.

• Speaker Jose Oliva will be writing a check for $100,000 from the Republican House Caucus PAC for relief efforts in the Bahamas.

• Senate President Bill Galvano has connected with Anheuser-Busch who will be donating over 20,000 cans of water, with more on the way.

• Representative Randy Fine also helped collect over 100,000 pounds of supplies that were sent from Melbourne to the Bahamas.