Florida Governor Rick Scott visited the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office on Sept. 19 to thank first responders for their hard work and dedication during Hurricane Irma.
- Scott expressed concerns about housing, standing water following Irma
- Standing water could lead to renewed problems with Zika virus
- Scott reminded Floridians to remain vigilant
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you for what you do," Governor Scott said.
Meanwhile, the governor said he's doing everything he can to help residents recover from the storm. Housing is one of the biggest concerns, and two percent of the state is still in the dark.
Scott said more than 30,000 utility men and women came from as far away as Canada to help restore power.
"I think we all expect to have our power on as quickly as possible," Governor Scott said. "I've been talking to the utility companies every day."
Scott emphasized that recovery was important for residents and also for tourism, as getting things up and running again will bring tourists back to the state.
"We got to get our tourists back, because so many of our jobs are tied to tourism," said Scott.
One way to attract tourists again, the governor said, is to pick up debris left by the storm.
"We've got debris around the state," Scott said. "I've asked every county what's their plan. This is a local responsibility."
With all the standing water, Scott also expressed concerned about the mosquito-borne virus Zika.
"So I'm asking everybody to think about draining your properties as fast as you can," Scott said. "Don't have any open containers sitting outside, wear bug repellent, all of those things so we don't get Zika again."
Finally, Scott warned residents not to let their guard down despite Irma being a memory, as Hurricane Season runs through Nov. 30.
"Hopefully this won't happen again, but this seems to be a very active hurricane season," Scott said.