Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Orlando Sanford International Airport. DeSantis was at the airport to announce the arrival of a flight later in the day with 14 U.S. citizens who were being transported out of Haiti. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Approximately 500 Americans — 360 of whom are Floridians — have contacted the state government about evacuating the island, according to local outlet ABC10.
The governor stated that flights are being provided for U.S. citizens free of charge.
"We are picking people up at their front door, getting them into a plane, getting them to this airport and getting them back to their front door in Florida — that’s what we’re committed to doing," said Florida Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, according to the report.
US EVACUATES FIRST AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM PORT-AU-PRINCE AS HAITI CRISIS DEEPENS
A parent, carrying his child after picking him up from school, runs past police carrying out an operation against gangs in the Bel-Air area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
He continued, "Given the circumstances in Haiti, I have directed the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard, and state law enforcement agencies to deploy over 250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft to the southern coast of Florida to protect our state."
The U.S. response efforts come after weeks of gang violence that has sent Haiti spiraling into chaos. Armed gangs launched a new wave of attacks in Port-au-Prince’s suburbs early Wednesday, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital.
The attacks came two days after gangs went on a rampage through the upscale neighborhoods of Laboule and Thomassin in Pétion-Ville, with at least a dozen people killed. The violence forced the closure of banks, schools and businesses across Pétion-Ville, which until now had been largely spared from the attacks that gangs launched on Feb. 29.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com
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