To provide relief and aid recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian in Sarasota County, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced over the weekend that 20 Starlink receivers have been deployed for use by first responders at the Sarasota County Emergency Operations Center and by residents at county Points of Distribution (POD) sites.

Starlink is part of Elon Musk's company SpaceX. Its receivers connect to a constellation of satellites and provide high-speed Internet in areas with unreliable access. Much of Southwest Florida's connectivity was pummeled by Ian; Starlink is also being used in war-torn Ukraine and Musk has hinted that it could be used in Iran, where protests after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody have rocked the country.

The state is also continuing to work to get generators to gas stations in the county, DeSantis said. He also noted that in the days after the storm, 334,000 meals and 2.4 million water bottles have been distributed to those in need throughout the county.

Additionally, the Florida Department of Emergency Management and the Florida National Guard have established nine Points of Distribution (PODs) across DeSoto, Hardee and Sarasota counties to provide residents with food, water and ice.

In Sarasota County, they are:

Hyundai of Venice

200 Jacaranda Blvd., Venice

Englewood Center Plaza

200 S. Indiana Ave., Englewood

Twin Lakes Park

6700 Clark Road, Sarasota

Venice Community Center

326 S. Nokomis Ave., Venice

San Pedro Catholic Church

14380 Tamiami Trail, North Port

Sarasota County Croquet Club

1400 Lucaya Ave., Venice