Joe Biden said Friday that experts estimate Hurricane Milton caused a staggering $50 billion in damage. The US president is scheduled to travel to Florida late Sunday to visit areas in the state hit by a massive storm that made landfall late Wednesday.
Officials are investigating the effects of the deadly storm, which spawned tornadoes and tore about 175 miles (280 kilometers) of land from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean before slamming into central Florida, killing people and leaving destruction in its wake. It was urgently evaluated. Houses and roads have been blocked by downed power lines, fallen trees and debris.
The storm reportedly killed at least 16 people. tampa bay times As recovery efforts continue, that number is likely to increase further.
Even though the worst fears about this massive storm did not materialize and it moved into and out of the state much earlier than originally expected, millions of people in central Florida were still I was upset.
This hurricane made landfall less than two weeks after Hurricane Helen hit northwest Florida, remained on land as a tropical cyclone, and caused an unexpected death toll of 230, surpassing Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was the highest since hitting Orleans. Flooding and strong winds occurred in 10 states.
Milton's powerful and destructive weather system spawned dozens of tornadoes in Florida on Wednesday, destroying an estimated 150 homes, knocking out power to more than 3.3 million customers and creating a barrier with 6-foot storm surge. They attacked the island and tore off the roof of the baseball stadium. and overturned a 500-foot construction crane.
As of Friday afternoon, about 2 million residents were still without power.
14-year-old boy found floating over fence in Gulf of Mexico, Coast Guard helicopter crew rescues man floating on ice box detached from boat – 'Most experienced' “It's a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced seafarers,” rescue workers said.
But even as the Milton teetered 110 miles south of where it was expected to make landfall, it did not cause the scale of destruction that authorities had feared. After Milton struck Mexico, strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane, slowed slightly, accelerated again as it crossed the Gulf Coast, and finally hit Florida as a Category 3, mass evacuations reduced the death toll. There is no doubt.
Tampa was spared a direct hit, and the feared 15-foot storm surge did not materialize as it made landfall on Siesta Key, a barrier island that protects southern Sarasota from the Gulf of Mexico and is normally known for its beautiful sandy beaches and sparkling waters.
The worst storm surge appeared to occur in Sarasota County, reaching 8 to 10 feet, lower than the worst during Helen. However, 18 inches of rain in some areas is still causing flooding. Causeway bridges and airports have reopened and people are returning to see what remains of their homeland. Some are healthy, some are destroyed, and some are filled with sand from high waves.
Some fuel shortages for vehicles were still reported. Many people have struggled to find food supplies during evacuations, and now people are trying to return to their homes. Statewide, 29% of gas stations were out of fuel, and in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, the rate rose to 73%. According to Gasbuddy.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said this is not a “worst-case scenario.” “I am confident that this region will bounce back very quickly,” he said.
Milton's deaths included five people killed in a tornado at Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce on Florida's Atlantic coast, and a woman killed by a falling tree branch in Tampa. Two more women were killed by falling trees in Volusia County.
Biden said the government is “providing all necessary resources” to respond to the storm's damage, including first responders, power line workers, state and local officials, and other workers assisting with recovery efforts. He expressed his gratitude to the volunteers.
Federal officials say they have enough money to deal with Milton and Helen, but that funding could run out before the end of the hurricane season, which runs through the end of November.
Biden said Friday he would ask Congress for more funding. Biden said in a letter to lawmakers this week that the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program is underfunded. According to ABC News.
Biden urged lawmakers to return to Washington to greenlight additional disaster relief funding. According to ABC News, Biden said he has not yet spoken specifically with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson about the matter.
“I've been talking to Republican members of Congress who would like to meet with Speaker Johnson, and I think they're going to get a message from Speaker Johnson that we need to focus especially on small businesses,” Biden said.
The president also said DeSantis has been “very cooperative.” Biden said he would meet with DeSantis if the governor's office becomes available.
But Milton's price is also being calculated from a political perspective, setting off a fierce blame game between political candidates in next month's national election.
Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House have criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for attacking the federal government's response to Hurricanes Helen and Milton, saying he blamed the deadly storms on his own. He suggested that they might be trying to use it for political gain.
“In this crisis, as in many issues that affect the people of our country, I think it's very important that leadership recognizes dignity.” [of those affected]Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee after Biden withdrew his re-election bid in July, spoke Thursday night at City Hall in Las Vegas. “I have to stress that this is not the time for people to play politics,” she added.
The vice president's comments are a sign that President Trump believes the Biden administration's lack of response is planned in a partisan manner, resulting in the abandonment of Republican voters and the “American It came after he suggested that he was left “drowned.” “They have caused people to suffer unjustly,” he said. His comments drew bipartisan criticism, including from some local and state Republican leaders in the affected areas.
Mr. Biden criticized the Republican campaign for being “so un-American in the way they talk about this issue,” and directly added to Mr. Trump: “Stay alive.”
And on Friday afternoon at the White House, when asked by reporters whether Trump was solely responsible for the disinformation, Biden replied: “No, he's just a big mouth.”
Without providing further details, the president said: “Those who have been spreading these lies… will pay the price.”
According to ABC News, Biden said he doesn't think storm disinformation will become routine in the United States in the future, potentially “only for some extreme people, but if that's what this I don't think it's a national problem,” he said. Biden said he was “proud” of Republican officials who rejected the disinformation.
Meteorologists tracking Milton are plagued by conspiracy theories that he is controlling the weather, even with nuclear explosions, and are facing death threats.
“I've never seen a storm attract so much misinformation. We're just putting out the fires of misinformation here and there,” CBS meteorologist Katie Nicholaw said. spoke. she added: “Killing meteorologists won't stop hurricanes. I can't believe I had to type that.”
