如同飓风伊恩开始席卷佛罗里达州美国总统乔·拜登详细介绍了他的政府为应对危机所做的努力暴风雨并警告居民注意官员的警告。
“这是威胁生命的，”拜登在白宫饥饿和营养会议上谈到4级风暴时说。“你应该服从紧急官员的所有警告和指示。不要认为任何事情是理所当然的。用他们的判断，而不是你的。”
飓风伊恩在一夜之间变得更强，接近5级，并将在周三下午登陆佛罗里达州，带来毁灭性的洪水、风暴潮和大风。
拜登表示，周二晚上，他与共和党州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)交谈了“一段时间”，这是两位领导人首次直接谈论风暴。
拜登说，他的团队成员“从一开始”就一直与州长保持联系
拜登周三表示:“信息非常明确，那就是我们保持警惕并采取行动。”。“我们已经批准了我收到的佛罗里达州提出的所有临时援助、紧急援助和长期援助的请求。”
星期三晚些时候，飓风伊恩登陆后，白宫说，拜登给佛罗里达州的几名地方官员打了电话，并能联系到迈尔斯堡市长凯文·安德森。
“他们讨论了迈尔斯堡的持续需求，包括对社区老年人、住在活动房屋中的家庭和其他特别容易受到风暴影响的社区成员的支持，”白宫说。
这场风暴对拜登和德桑蒂斯都是一个重大考验，他们在许多问题上经常是敌人，距离中期选举只有六周时间。
当美国广播公司首席白宫记者塞西莉亚·维嘉问及拜登和德桑蒂斯周二谈话的基调时，白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔说，这是关于两人如何在这个问题上作为合作伙伴进行合作。
“当我们谈论极端天气时，这里没有政治，”让-皮埃尔回应道。
President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 2022.
奥利弗·孔特雷拉斯/法新社
前任总统都面临过自然灾害的政治后果。乔治·w·布什因对卡特里娜飓风的反应受到广泛批评，特别是在他赞扬联邦紧急事务管理局的工作之后，尽管该机构被指责行动不够迅速。
拜登周三表示，联邦政府将在飓风伊恩期间“准备以一切可能的方式提供帮助”，并指出他已经建立和部署了一支搜救队，并已在现场，以帮助佛罗里达州在风暴后的重建。
拜登还向石油和天然气公司发出了严厉的信息，警告他们不要在风暴期间提价，否则他将要求官员调查任何潜在的价格欺诈。
“不要，让我重复一遍，不要——不要以此为借口提高汽油价格或欺骗美国人民，”总统说，并指出专家告诉他的政府，美国每日石油产量中只有2%将在短期内受到飓风伊恩的影响。
Jean-Pierre在周三的新闻发布会上宣布，拜登将于周四访问位于华盛顿的联邦应急管理局总部。
让-皮埃尔还提供了政府应对措施的更多细节，他告诉记者:“我们在佛罗里达州有1300多名联邦应对人员。阿拉巴马州预先准备了370万份食物和350万升水，并预先准备了11万加仑燃料和1.8万磅丙烷，以便立即部署。300名陆军人员在现场支持电力和燃料评估。300辆救护车正在支援当地官员，多个联邦灾难医疗援助小组被部署到佛罗里达州和乔治亚州。
德桑蒂斯将在11月竞选连任，被广泛认为是一个2024年提名的共和党竞争者本周，我花了一点时间感谢白宫的帮助。
德桑蒂斯在周三的新闻发布会上说:“这将产生广泛的影响，我们感谢拜登政府在佛罗里达州人民需要的时候给予他们的考虑。”
德桑蒂斯周三警告说，随着风暴的到来，数百万人将失去电力，并强调了佛罗里达州西南部为那些在风暴期间需要住宿的人开放的200个避难所。
“这种情况将持续几天、几周、几个月，不幸的是，在某些情况下，甚至几年，”德桑蒂斯在谈到飓风伊恩的影响时说。
Biden coordinates with DeSantis and Fla. officials, warns oil companies as Hurricane Ian hits
AsHurricane Ian began barreling across Florida, President Joe Biden detailed his administration's efforts to prepare for thestormand warned residents to heed warnings from officials.
"It's life-threatening," Biden said of the Category 4 storm as he spoke at a White House conference on hunger and nutrition. "You should obey all warnings and directions from emergency officials. Don't take anything for granted. Use their judgment, not yours."
Hurricane Ian grew stronger overnight, nearing a Category 5, and was set to bring devastating floods, storm surges and winds to Florida as it made landfall on Wednesday afternoon.
Biden said he talked with GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis "for some time" on Tuesday evening, marking the first time the two leaders had spoken directly about the storm.
Biden said members of his team have been in constant contact with the governor "since the beginning."
"Message has been absolutely clear, is that we are on the alert and in action," Biden said Wednesday. "We've approved every request Florida has made for temporary assistance, emergency assistance and long-term assistance that I've received."
Later Wednesday, after Hurricane Ian made landfall, the White House said Biden made calls to several local Florida officials and was able to reach Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson.
"They discussed Fort Myers’ ongoing needs including support for the elderly members of the community, families that live in mobile homes and other community members who are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the storm," the White House said.
The storm poses a major test for both Biden and DeSantis, often foes on numerous issues, just six weeks before the midterm elections.
When asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega about the tone of the Tuesday conversation between Biden and DeSantis, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it was about how the two can work as partners on the issue.
"There's no politics in this when we talk about extreme weather," Jean-Pierre responded.
Past presidents have faced political consequences over natural disasters. George W. Bush was widely criticized for his response to Hurricane Katrina, especially after he praised the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its work despite the agency being blamed for failing to act fast enough.
Biden said Wednesday the federal government will be "ready to help in every single way possible" during Hurricane Ian, noting he's developed and deployed a search-and-rescue team that's already on the ground, and to help Florida rebuild after the storm.
Biden also delivered a stern message to oil and gas companies, warning them not to raise prices amid the storm or else he'll ask officials to investigate any potential price gouging.
"Do not, let me repeat, do not -- do not use this as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American people," the president said, noting experts told his administration only 2% of U.S. daily oil production will be impacted in the short-term from Hurricane Ian.
Biden will be visiting FEMA headquarters in Washington on Thursday, Jean-Pierre announced at Wednesday's press briefing.
Jean-Pierre also provided additional details on the administration's response, telling reporters: "We have more than 1,300 federal response workers on the ground in Florida. There are 3.7 million meals and 3.5 million liters of water pre-positioned in Alabama [and] 110,000 gallons of fuel and 18,000 pounds of propane are pre-staged for immediate deployment. Three-hundred Army Corps personnel are on the ground to support power and fuel assessments. Three-hundred ambulances are supporting local officials, and multiple federal disaster medical assistance teams are deployed to Florida and Georgia."
DeSantis, who's up for reelection in November and is widely considered to be aRepublican contender for the 2024 nomination, took a moment this week to thank the White House for their assistance.
"The effects of this are going to be broad and we appreciate the Biden administration's consideration to the people of Florida during this time of need," DeSantis said at a press conference on Wednesday.
DeSantis warned Wednesday that millions will be without power as the storm hits and highlighted the 200 shelters open in southwest Florida for those who need a place to stay during the storm.
"This is going to be something that is going to be there for days and weeks and months and unfortunately, in some circumstances, even years," DeSantis said as he talked about the impacts of Hurricane Ian.
