Dr. Kevin Olsen of Tampa, Florida joins Varney & Company. Learn more about the widespread damage Hurricane Milton caused in your community.
Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday night, leaving more than 3 million residents without power. Officials are pleading for patience as crews work around the clock to restore the lights.
hillsborough county, home of tampawas one of the hardest hit areas. At a press conference Thursday afternoon, the head of local power company Tampa Electric (TECO) explained that about 600,000 of TECO's 850,000 customers are without power and outlined the challenges employees face in restoring power. explained.
People walk through water as roads are flooded in the Southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa due to Hurricane Milton in Florida on October 10, 2024. Hurricane Milton tore a path of destruction through the U.S. state of Florida from coast to coast. (Brian R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
TECO President Archie Collins said that, to his knowledge, this is the biggest hurdle the company has ever experienced.
Milton was expected to be devastating, and Collins said TECO had prepared in advance. He said 6,000 utility workers are being mobilized to help restore service, and in his seven years with the company, the most he's seen involved in a past hurricane is 3,500. said.
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Still, they have jobs that are suitable for them.
Much of Thursday was spent assessing the extent of the damage. A helicopter was dispatched to fly up and down the power grid to find the cause of the outage. Collins said heavy rain has caused widespread localized flooding in the region, which combined with strong winds has caused some overhead infrastructure to shake.
Trees fall from Hurricane Milton near Hillsborough Avenue and Dale Mabry in Tampa, Florida, USA on October 10, 2024. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Hillsborough County Deputy Sheriff Col. Anthony Collins said first responders. including the police Firefighters were working at full capacity and reported multiple downed trees, slowing some rescue efforts.
“Many of those trees have power lines, so we can't get to them as quickly as possible,” Collins said. “We don't know if those wires are live or inactive. Please wait.” He added that many traffic control devices were also rendered inoperable.
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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said 65% of Tampa's traffic lights were down due to the “massive” power outage, and one can only imagine the percentage of power outages across the county.
A drone image of people walking on a flooded street in Tampa in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Florida on October 10, 2024. (Brian R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We have a lot of work to do, and we need you to do your part, too,” Castor said. She said everyone in the back at the press conference might think she “smells like an arsonist” because he just smoked gas and set up a generator for one of her sisters. I joked that it was because I had just started it.
“As we restore power, we need to remind you that you are aware of these service lines and are cooperating in caring for your neighbors,” she added.
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Temple Terrace Mayor Andy Ross used the press conference time to urge residents to “keep going” and said authorities recognize the inconvenience of not having electricity and are working hard to get it restored. He emphasized that he was doing his best. Please take a moment. He warned residents: “By Saturday, this will not happen.”
An aerial view of a Sheriff's Office vehicle moving on a flooded road in Tampa, Florida, in the wake of Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024. (Brian R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
TECO's Collins said he expects some “lucky” customers to have power restored as early as Thursday as crews work to restore circuits circuit by circuit. However, recovery will occur in stages, with first priority being places such as hospitals and nursing homes, then critical infrastructure such as airports, and finally residential communities.
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“We fully understand that continuity of electricity supply is fundamental to the functioning of our society and the growth of our economy, and we are committed to doing so. We have the resources,” Collins said. said. “We need a little patience from our customers and community partners, but this system will be back up quickly. Today, we just need a little time to resolve the issue.” Triage. ”
