Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke from Manatee County Thursday about recovery efforts continuing in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

He listed three executive actions.

The first involved removing time restrictions on rentals so that residents who need a place to stay while they regain their home are not limited to, for example, 30-day periods.

The governor also authorized election officials in the hardest-hit counties, including Taylor and Manatee, to make arrangements so people can continue to vote, as was the case after Hurricane Ian.

Then DeSantis said it was “unacceptable” that the longshoremen’s strike on the East and Gulf Coasts was affecting residents who need supplies to rebuild homes and businesses.

“At my direction, the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard are deployed to critical affected ports to maintain order and, when possible, resume operations that would otherwise have been suspended during this disruption,” the governor said.

It was not immediately clear how authorities would do this or which ports he was specifically referring to.

He also said he wanted to send the message that Florida ports were open to non-striking ships.

Finally, DeSantis said three families from Florida were evacuated overnight from North Carolina, which is also suffering from Helene’s crossing. (In fact, a South Florida family was also rescued by a good Samaritan helicopter pilot when they were stranded there.)

Helene marked the third time in 13 months that a windswept stretch of Florida’s Big Bend was directly hit by a hurricane — a one-two punch against a 50-mile swath of the state’s more than 8,400 miles of coastline, first by Idalia, then Hurricane Debby Category 1 in August 2024 and then Helene.