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Florida Power & Light system 'will need to be rebuilt' because of Hurricane Ian

Florida Power & Light holds news conference on restoration efforts

Florida Power & Light system 'will need to be rebuilt' because of Hurricane Ian

Florida Power & Light holds news conference on restoration efforts

MICHELLE: WE GOT A TWEET FROM THE FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT. THEY ARE SAYING THAT THE CATASTROPHIC WIND WILL MEAN PART OF THEIR SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REBUILT, NOT RESTORED. BE PREPARED FOR WIDESPREAD EXTENDED OUTAGES AS THEY ASSESS THE DAMAGE. THEY ARE ALREADY AT WORK RESTORING POWER WHERE THEY CAN DO SO SAFELY. WE KNEW THIS WOULD BE A RESULT OF THE STORM. WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES. WE SAW IT IN CUBA. 11 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE DARK. AND THEN SOUTH FLORIDA WAS COMPLETELY IN THE DARK. SUMMER: WE TALKED WITH OUC AND THEY ARE TRYING TO WALK US THROUGH HELPING PEOPLE SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. IT IS GOING TO BE A MINUTE. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR BATTERY OPERATED LIGHTS. IF YOU HAVE CANDLES, PUT THEM WHERE THEY CANNOT BE KNOCKED OVER. DUKE ENERGY, WE KEEP REFRESHING AND EVERY FIVE MINUTES IT SEEMS LIKE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE GOING UP BY 10,000. WE WILL KEEP WATCHING BUT THERE ISN’T MUCH THEY CAN DO RIGHT NOW. SO YOU HAVE TO BE PATIENT. MICHELLE: FPL
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Florida Power & Light system 'will need to be rebuilt' because of Hurricane Ian

Florida Power & Light holds news conference on restoration efforts

Florida Power & Light was expected to give restoration update at 12:30 p.m. Thursday but they had technical issues and were forced to cancelLATEST: As of noon Thursday, about 2.6 million people on Florida were without power. Previous story below:Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida Wednesday afternoon as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, leaving more than 1 million Floridians without power.Much of southwest Florida has experienced significant flooding, dangerously high storm surge and strong winds in the first few hours of the storm's impact. Tuesday night into Wednesday, Ian battered the Florida Keys. The hurricane left all of Cuba without power late Tuesday.According to tracking service Poweroutage.us, almost 2.4 million people in Florida have lost electricity, including most power customers in coastal Lee County and Charlotte County, where the cities of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda are located, respectively.Ian is working its way through Central Florida Wednesday overnight as a powerful tropical storm. As thousands are without power in the area, Florida Power & Light warned residents that the company expects a major overhaul will be needed to turn the lights back on after Ian."Hurricane Ian’s catastrophic winds will mean parts of our system will need to be rebuilt – not restored. Be prepared for widespread, extended outages as we are assessing the damage. We are already at work restoring power where we can do so safely," Florida Power & Light said. DeSantis said in a press conference Wednesday that 5,000 Florida National Guardsmen and 2,000 guardsmen from other states have been activated to help during and after the storm.Over 40,000 line workers and power workers have been mobilized, ready to work to get the lights back on once the danger has passed.The governor said the continued heavy rainfall and flooding is likely going to cause trees to fall."The ground is already wet, which makes it more likely for trees to fall and bring down power lines," he said.A total of 26 states have sent support."I want to thank them for their support, it's much appreciated," DeSantis said.The governor said there is no doubt the storm will be devastating."This is going to be one of those historic storms and have a profound impact on our state," he said. "We thank people across the country for their thoughts and prayers."DeSantis thanked Florida Power & Light for their readiness."These power problems are not going to be easy," he said.

Florida Power & Light was expected to give restoration update at 12:30 p.m. Thursday but they had technical issues and were forced to cancel

LATEST: As of noon Thursday, about 2.6 million people on Florida were without power.

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Previous story below:

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida Wednesday afternoon as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, leaving more than 1 million Floridians without power.

Much of southwest Florida has experienced significant flooding, dangerously high storm surge and strong winds in the first few hours of the storm's impact.

Tuesday night into Wednesday, Ian battered the Florida Keys. The hurricane left all of Cuba without power late Tuesday.

According to tracking service Poweroutage.us, almost 2.4 million people in Florida have lost electricity, including most power customers in coastal Lee County and Charlotte County, where the cities of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda are located, respectively.

Ian is working its way through Central Florida Wednesday overnight as a powerful tropical storm.

As thousands are without power in the area, Florida Power & Light warned residents that the company expects a major overhaul will be needed to turn the lights back on after Ian.

"Hurricane Ian’s catastrophic winds will mean parts of our system will need to be rebuilt – not restored. Be prepared for widespread, extended outages as we are assessing the damage. We are already at work restoring power where we can do so safely," Florida Power & Light said.

    DeSantis said in a press conference Wednesday that 5,000 Florida National Guardsmen and 2,000 guardsmen from other states have been activated to help during and after the storm.

    Over 40,000 line workers and power workers have been mobilized, ready to work to get the lights back on once the danger has passed.

    The governor said the continued heavy rainfall and flooding is likely going to cause trees to fall.

    "The ground is already wet, which makes it more likely for trees to fall and bring down power lines," he said.

    A total of 26 states have sent support.

    "I want to thank them for their support, it's much appreciated," DeSantis said.

    The governor said there is no doubt the storm will be devastating.

    "This is going to be one of those historic storms and have a profound impact on our state," he said. "We thank people across the country for their thoughts and prayers."

    DeSantis thanked Florida Power & Light for their readiness.

    "These power problems are not going to be easy," he said.