During a press conference this afternoon at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state of Florida has arranged for residents to get free Uber rides to shelters with the code HELENERELIEF.

Hurricane and storm-surge watches were issued Tuesday for much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, as a developing weather system is expected to rapidly intensify into "a potentially very dangerous storm," likely making landfall as Hurricane Helene later this week.

TALLAHASSEE—As the Sunshine State battens down the hatches in preparation for the potentially major Hurricane Helene, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Wednesday