Rural Florida got hammered by three major hurricanes in just 13 months.
Now Ron DeSantis is writing a massive check to make sure it never happens again.
And Ron DeSantis just handed rural Florida $167 million after years of getting crushed by hurricanes.
DeSantis targets Big Bend communities left vulnerable by repeated storm damage
DeSantis announced $167.5 million in infrastructure awards for 34 rural communities across Florida.
The money targets areas the media barely covered after Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, and Helene tore through North Florida between 2023 and 2024.
Taylor County scored the biggest haul with nearly $36 million.
The city of Perry alone will get $25 million to rebuild water and wastewater systems that failed when storm surge flooded treatment plants.
Port St. Joe snagged $25 million to completely rebuild its wastewater treatment facility.
Cross City received over $37 million for a new wastewater treatment plant and major stormwater drainage upgrades.
Cedar Key will use $11.4 million to harden both water and sewer systems against future storms.
These aren't just repairs.
DeSantis is forcing these small towns to elevate electrical and mechanical equipment above flood levels so the next hurricane doesn't wipe them out again.
"If the water is beneath and it's up, it's fine," DeSantis explained. "When the water gets in, then it totally messes it up."
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2009074234505433244?s=20
The Governor held his announcement in Steinhatchee, one of the hardest-hit communities.
He pointed out that liberal media stopped covering these rural areas the moment the initial emergency passed.
"You had Idalia in 2023, and then you had Debbie, which no one even talks about, in 24," DeSantis said. "Then you had, after that, like a month later, Helene."
Three major hurricanes in 13 months destroyed infrastructure that took decades to build.
Small towns like Steinhatchee don't have the tax base to rebuild on their own.
That's where DeSantis stepped in with $167.5 million in state and federal disaster recovery funds.
Democrats ignore rural America while DeSantis delivers real help
The funding comes from Community Development Block Grants and Florida's Rural Infrastructure Fund.
DeSantis made sure the money goes beyond just fixing broken pipes.
Taylor County will build a special needs emergency shelter with $4.9 million.
Steinhatchee gets nearly $300,000 to plan a commercial seafood facility that will create jobs and stabilize the local fishing industry.
Doctor's Memorial Hospital in Perry scored $4.4 million for emergency power systems and modernized communications equipment.
When the next hurricane hits, that hospital won't lose power and phones like it did during Helene.
Florida Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly said these grants create jobs and keep families in their home communities.
"Every single one of these grants is a partnership and a relationship with a community," Kelly explained.
That's the difference between Republican and Democrat disaster response.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2008978679536234801?s=20
Democrats show up for photo ops, promise help, then forget about you the moment CNN's cameras leave.
DeSantis stuck around and made sure these rural communities got what they actually needed.
The $167.5 million follows a previous $311 million DeSantis awarded to 37 Florida communities in December.
That brings the total recent investment in rural infrastructure to nearly $479 million.
DeSantis joked he couldn't bring his usual giant ceremonial checks because there were too many awards to hand out.
"There's too many awards," DeSantis said. "I'd be taking pictures until dinnertime."
DeSantis proves Republicans deliver for forgotten communities
Florida's economic strength makes these investments possible.
The Sunshine State created nearly 590,000 new businesses in 2025 and added more than 70,000 private sector jobs last year.
The unemployment rate sits at 4.2%, below the national average of 4.6%, for 61 straight months.
DeSantis built up Florida's rainy-day fund and paid down state debt without raising taxes.
That fiscal discipline lets him write massive checks to rural communities without breaking the bank.
Liberal media won't give DeSantis credit for any of this.
They'd rather focus on manufactured controversies than report on a Republican Governor actually delivering for working-class Americans.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2008940327139434673?s=20
These rural communities know the truth.
DeSantis showed up when they needed help most and backed it up with real money for real projects.
Not studies or task forces or promises.
Actual funding to rebuild water systems, harden electrical infrastructure, and protect hospitals from the next storm.
Small-town mayors across North Florida understand what this means.
Federal bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. don't care about Steinhatchee or Cross City or Cedar Key.
Those places don't vote in numbers that matter to national Democrats.
But DeSantis made visiting all 67 Florida counties a priority during his time as Governor.
"I don't need to do rural to get elected," DeSantis admitted. "You could never do rural and still get elected just because of how big some of these other populations are. But that wouldn't be the right thing to do."
That's leadership.
Republicans who deliver for forgotten Americans instead of just talking about them.
Sources:
- Michelle Vecerina, "Gov. DeSantis awards $167.5 million for infrastructure in rural Florida communities," Florida News, January 7, 2026.
- Gabrielle Russon, "Gov. DeSantis awards $168M to rural communities for infrastructure improvements," Florida Politics, January 7, 2026.
- Jack Walsh, "DeSantis announces $167.5 million award to small, rural Florida communities for infrastructure improvement," Tampa Bay 28, January 7, 2026.
- Governor Ron DeSantis, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces an Additional $167.5 Million in Awards," Executive Office of the Governor, January 7, 2026.
- "DeSantis announces $167.5 million in rural infrastructure funding for hurricane recovery," MySunCoast, January 7, 2026.
