Millions of Floridians on Friday began a long and difficult recovery after the state’s second major hurricane in two weeks, restoring power, shovelling mud from flooded homes and clearing mountains of debris left by Milton and Helene.
While some coastal cities such as Tampa were spared the catastrophic surge of seawater that many forecasters feared, Milton brought widespread flooding and touched off a spate of deadly tornadoes on Florida’s east coast, killing at least 16 people and leaving millions without power.
Many areas had still been clearing debris and repairing damage from Hurricane Helene, which slammed into the Gulf Coast late last month before battering much of the southeast US.
During a 72-hour period this week, the Florida department of transportation removed 2,200 truckloads of debris from Pinellas County barrier islands near the mouth of Tampa Bay, governor Ron DeSantis said on Friday at a briefing.
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“I don’t think there’s ever been that much debris removed in such a short period of time,” he said.
Utility workers repaired power lines and damaged mobile phone towers, while crews from government agencies and residents armed with chainsaws cleared downed trees and mopped up flooded neighbourhoods in cities and towns swamped by heavy rains.
The number of Florida homes and businesses without electricity dropped to about 2.27 million by late Friday morning US time, according to the website PowerOutage.us, from a high of more than 3.4 million in Milton’s immediate aftermath. Some customers have been waiting days for power to be restored after Helene hit the area.
More than 6,500 National Guard members had been activated in 23 Florida counties, and were involved with search and rescue, ground and air reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, route clearance and other efforts, said Maj Gen John Haas, the governor’s senior military adviser.
Unlike Helene, whose storm surge caused most of its damage along the coast, Milton’s strong winds and extreme rainfall created problems across the county. Plant City, more than 32km inland, experienced major flooding.
Nearly 1,200 people have been rescued since Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening, according to Mr DeSantis’s office.
President Joe Biden will visit Florida on Sunday to survey the damage, the White House said.
The fifth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, Milton could cost insurers $30 billion-$60 billion (€27.4 billion-€54.8 billion), Morningstar DBRS analyst Marcos Alvarez said on Friday. That projection was lower than the up to $100 billion estimated by the firm before the storm’s arrival.
Milton’s rapid intensification from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours was the latest example of a worrying trend that has seen storms growing more powerful, more quickly, due to climate change. Milton made landfall as a major Category 3 hurricane.
The White House pledged government support as the full extent of the damage was still being surveyed.
The Biden administration said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would need additional funding from Congress, where the Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate, and urged lawmakers, who were on recess, to act.
While Milton came ashore on the state’s western coast, some of its worst havoc was wrought more than 160km away along the state’s eastern shore.
There were at least 16 hurricane-related deaths, CBS News cited the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as saying.
In St Lucie County, a flurry of tornadoes killed several people, including at least two in a senior living community, according to local officials. – Reuters