Tallahassee, FL - Florida emergency officials set a time table for restoring power throughout the state during a news conference on Monday.
Officials with several agencies, including the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), held the news conference in Tallahassee to provide an update on Hurricane Ian recovery efforts.
Kevin Gutherie, FDEM director, said there's nearly 621,000 customers without power as of Monday morning.
Gutherie announced most of those residents can expect to have their power turned on by Sunday, stating “for those that can receive power, for example, they have lines to their home and the infrastructure is still standing, for those that can receive power the estimates are from all of our electrical outlets that they will have restoration done by Sunday of this week. That is a goal that they are trying to hit to have all customers that can receive power by Sunday of this week,”
Guthrie said this estimate does not include areas “catastrophically hit" by Hurricane Ian.
Guthrie also urged Floridians to not “disaster sightsee” and advised them to avoid areas where first responders are needed to do their jobs.
The Florida Highway Patrol also urged residents to be cautious and avoid travel if possible, with FHP director James Spaulding stating Monday “we still have several roadways that are underwater. Keep in mind that just because of water recedes don’t necessarily mean the roadway is safe to drive alone. There is a high likelihood of washed out so under the asphalt under the roadway. So please don’t try to drive around barricades."