Florida newsman uses maps to debunk Ron DeSantis claim Ft. Meyers was 'never' in hurricane's path
Questions are continuing to surface about the state and local authorities and their role in calling for the evacuation of Lee County, which dealt with a significant hit from Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) claimed that Ft. Meyers and Lee County were never projected to be in the cone of the storm's trajectory until it was too late.
"Well, where was your industry stationed when the storm hit? Was it in Lee County? No, you were in Tampa. So, they were following the weather track and they had to make decisions based on that. But, you know, 72 hours they weren't even in the cone. At 48 hours they were on the periphery. So, you've got to make decisions the best you can," said DeSantis on Sunday while in Arcadia, Florida.
The claim is false, according to southwest Florida newsman Chris Redfearn at NBC2, who used a collection of NOAA maps to prove his point.
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\u201cLee County officials continue doubling, and tripling down on their reluctance to evacuate SWFL earlier - claiming our area \u201cwasn\u2019t in the forecast cone.\u201d This is every @NHC_Atlantic forecast update going back to 5 am Friday. SWFL\u2019s in the cone for every single one.\u201d— Chris Redfearn (@Chris Redfearn) 1664821382
The death toll in Florida from Hurricane Ian is now over 100, with the overwhelming majority coming from Lee and Charlotte counties, the Miami Herald reported.
One Democratic foe of DeSantis' told Raw Story that the governor may have been too busy to focus on Florida because he's running for president.