Gov. Ron DeSantis told travelers Monday afternoon that Destin is ready for visitors, speaking at Jackacuda’s Seafood and Sushi a little more than a week after Hurricane Isaias made landfall in Okaloosa County.

• DeSantis said the storm caused some damage in Destin, but the community responded quickly and the state provided the support it was asked for. He urged anyone with plans to visit not to cancel them.

“Don’t act like, ‘Oh, there was a hurricane that washed ashore. Oh, we’re not going to go to Destin now for the rest of the year,'” DeSantis said. “No, no, no, no. You come. You’ll enjoy it. People are ready. They’re ready to have you. These folks are bouncing back very, very quickly.”

DeSantis was joined by Jackacuda’s Owner Tyler Jarvis, who hosted the event, and Destin Chamber of Commerce President Shane Moody.

Storm damage pushed northwest

DeSantis said Isaias did not follow the pattern forecasters typically expect, where the worst damage falls to the east and northeast of landfall.

“There was a jet stream that pushed a lot of wind damage northwest,” DeSantis said. “And so where it made shore in Okaloosa County, you actually were looking at Santa Rosa and even Escambia, where some of the strongest wind damage was.”

He said the storm also caused agricultural damage, and that some inland areas northwest of the coast saw total losses he would not have predicted based on the storm’s track.

In Destin, DeSantis said, homeowners he spoke with while touring the area told him they had expected worse.

“Most of the homeowners were telling us that they were relieved ’cause they thought it was actually going to be worse than it was,” he said.

Bridge loans and disaster declaration

DeSantis said the state has made $10 million available in short-term, zero-interest loans through its Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program. After 10 days, he said, 55 businesses had been approved for a total of $4.5 million.

• He said demand for the loans has not been as high as it could be for a storm like Isaias, which he called a good sign.

The state has also submitted a request to the White House for a major disaster declaration, DeSantis said, and he has spoken with the FEMA administrator. He said he expects the request to be approved.

A major disaster declaration would provide both public and individual assistance, according to DeSantis. Public assistance would reimburse counties for debris removal and other emergency protective measures, while individual assistance would include help such as housing assistance.

DeSantis said the state worked to gather damage data from counties and local governments after the storm to support the request.

“We worked really hard to make sure that we had all this information, put a nice bow on it, submit it, and then hopefully get a quick and expeditious approval,” he said.

Travel trailer program

DeSantis also highlighted a state travel trailer program for residents who cannot stay in their homes during repairs. He said the state started the program after seeing federal trailer assistance take months to arrive following Hurricane Ian.

“If your home needs to be rehabilitated and you can’t stay in it, you can put it on your property, the RV, stay right there, work on your home,” DeSantis said. “This way you’re not having to commute away from your home.”

The first two trailers have been delivered to residents in Escambia County, DeSantis said. He said the state has received a few hundred applications, though not every applicant may be eligible, and is working with a group called Emergency RV to deliver the trailers.

DeSantis also pointed to a bridge at Grayton Beach State Park in Walton County that collapsed during the storm. He said the state authorized the repair, the bridge was fixed the next day and the park has reopened.

Restaurant reopened within 24 hours

Jarvis, who was born and raised in Destin, thanked his business partner Chris Ruyan and his staff for getting Jackacuda’s cleaned up and reopened within 24 hours of the storm hitting Friday.

• “Within 24 hours, we were able to reopen due to the amazing linemen, first responders, all the people who were able to get the power up and operating,” Jarvis said.

He said the restaurant served more than 300 people that Saturday night, many of whom did not have power at home and wanted a place to watch football games.

Jarvis invited visitors who missed fall break to come to Destin and the surrounding communities, from Walton County to Santa Rosa County, pointing to Thanksgiving, golf and early November fishing.

He also thanked DeSantis for his leadership over the past eight years, noting that his time in office is coming to an end.

‘We always bounce back’

Moody thanked DeSantis for the resources the state provided during recovery and for creating a business-friendly environment in Florida. He said Florida is the 14th largest economy in the world and creates one out of every eight new jobs in the country.

“This is a resilient community,” Moody said. “We’ve been through storms, we’ve been through oil spill, we’ve been through pandemic, we’ve been through storms again, and we always bounce back. We always bounce back stronger, bigger, better, faster than we were before.”

DeSantis said Florida’s economy was a little more than $1 trillion when he became governor and is now about $1.9 trillion. He closed his remarks by encouraging both in-state and out-of-state visitors to come to Destin.

“If you’re thinking of making plans, go ahead and pull the trigger,” DeSantis said. “They’re ready. They’re ready to have you, and I know that they would love to see you.”