National Guard distributes food and water to hundreds of Ian-impacted families

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Recovery from Hurricane Ian is well underway along Florida’s west coast.

The National Guard in Florida helped more than 200 families on Saturday, distributing food, water, and ice to Sarasota County families impacted by the Category 4 hurricane.

“It is absolutely the most wonderful thing I have ever seen,” said Doris Hershey, who went through the distribution line at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota.

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Each recipient was given six meals, two bags of ice, and a pack of bottled water.

Florida National Guard members are conducting Liaison missions in 14 counties to support and coordinate emergency response missions and requests in those counties, according to a press release by the Florida Governor’s office.

Hershey said she was planning on taking her meals to her brother, who she had not been able to get in contact with since Ian made landfall.

“No one has heard or seen from him so we’re actually taking it up to people who need it,” said Hershey.

Atlanta News First confirmed with Hershey after this initial interview that her brother was located.

He experienced some minor roof damage, but was okay after the hurricane.

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The state website for reporting missing persons related to Hurricane Ian is http://missing.fl.gov. If you need to report a missing person, fill out the form on behalf of “Someone Else.” You can also fill out the form on behalf of yourself if communications are limited. Safe and found persons can be reported safe at http://safe.fl.gov.

On Saturday, Governor Ron DeSantis said restoring power and internet was a major focus for the State.

Governor DeSantis said 30 Starlink units were deployed to Lee and Charlotte Counties to help residents communicate.

According to the Governor’s office, there are currently 42,000 linemen responding to the more than 1.2 million reported power outages.

They have already restored power to more than 1.4 million accounts across the state.

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TUESDAY

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