Millions of Florida residents remain without electricity today, more than 24 hours after Hurricane Milton swept through the state, causing tornadoes and leaving at least 16 dead.
Utility crews are working to repair power and mobile networks, while government workers and residents armed with chainsaws are clearing fallen trees and cleaning up flooded neighborhoods in cities hit by Milton’s torrential rains.
Although Milton did not cause the catastrophic flooding feared in Florida, one of the southeastern U.S. states recently hit by Hurricane Elin two weeks ago, the cleanup operations may take weeks or months.
“You realize what Mother Nature can do,” said Chase Pierce, a 25-year-old electrician, who, along with his partner, witnessed transformers explode, sparks fly, and a power pole fall in his yard in St. Petersburg.
Milton, the fifth strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, could cost insurance companies between $30 and $60 billion, according to analyst Marcos Alvarez from Morningstar DBRS.
The White House has promised federal support, while authorities assess the full extent of the damage.
However, Republican Donald Trump, trailing behind Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5th election polls, criticized Harris and President Joe Biden over their handling of recovery efforts.
“The federal government… has not done what it was supposed to do, specifically showing respect to North Carolina,” Trump said yesterday. North Carolina was heavily impacted by Hurricane Elin, and the race between Trump and Harris is tight there.
Vice President Harris, who has accused Trump of spreading lies about the government’s response, condemned the politicization of the issue during an event yesterday.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen it in the past two weeks, after Hurricane Elin and now after Milton, people playing political games,” she said, without naming Trump.
Politicians on both sides are well aware of how President George W. Bush’s approval ratings dropped after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.
Deadly Tornadoes
Florida residents say they endured a double disaster.
Although Milton made landfall on Florida’s western coast on Wednesday night, chaos spread over 160 kilometers away along the state’s eastern shores.
At least 16 deaths have already been recorded due to the hurricane, CBS reported, citing Florida law enforcement officials.
In St. Lucie County, a wave of tornadoes caused deaths, including at least two in the Spanish Lakes communities, according to local officials.
Between Siesta Key and Fort Myers Beach, water levels rose between 1.5 and 3 meters above ground level, according to initial reports from the U.S. Hurricane Center.
The number of Florida residents still without electricity dropped to around 2.44 million this morning, down from a peak of over 3.4 million right after Milton struck, according to the PowerOutage.us website.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned yesterday that while the state avoided the “worst-case scenario,” the damage remains significant.
