Hurricane Milton live: DeSantis announces free gas for residents as $160bn in damage expected
Forecasters have warned that the threat of dangerous flooding will remain in place for days or even weeks
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At least 17 people have died after Hurricane Milton devastated portions of Florida, as the extent of damage caused becomes clear in the wake of the storm.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key, spawning dozens of tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and devastating storm surge.
President Biden is expected to survey the damage to the Tampa Bay region on Sunday and receive a briefing on the state of the disaster response from officials on the ground.
The National Weather Service has warned major flooding is still forcast north of Tampa.
Six people in St Lucie County retirement village were killed by tornadoes brought on by the hurricane after a dozen twisters spawned in the region within 20 minutes.
About 1m homes and businesses in Florida were still without power on Saturday evening, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted.
Damages from the storm are estimated to cost Florida upwards of $160 billion over the long term.
The storm also impacted fuel delivery, prompting Florida to offer free gasoline at state fuel depots as long lines formed at the pump across the state.
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Florida couple reveal Hurricane Milton unearthed long-lost wedding ring
A Florida couple has revealed that Hurricane Milton unearthed a long-lost wedding ring which had been missing for almost a decade.
Laura and Basil Yorio told Fox35 that the ring vanished without a trace nine years ago while they were going through a construction project on their home in Palm Bay, Florida.
It had not been seen since.
On Wednesday, Hurricane Milton tore through their neighborhood.
When they returned home, Laura said she spotted something shiny in their yard.
“I looked down and saw a silver ring and thought it was like a key ring,” she said.
They then realized what it was.
“We’re very mindful that a lot of people are going through terrible things, and I feel almost a little guilty feeling happy about all of this, but it was something good.”
Floridians return to homes shattered by Hurricane Milton
Lieutenant Dan became an overnight sensation riding out Hurricane Milton. Then his long criminal past came to light
Joseph Malinkowski became a ‘cult hero’ overnight for his defiant stand in the face of Hurricane Milton. Mike Bedigan and Kelly Rissman delve into his sprawling criminal history that rocked the boat and social media:
Lt. Dan became a sensation riding out Milton. Then his criminal past came to light
Joseph Malinkowski became a ‘cult hero’ overnight for his defiant stand in the face of Hurricane Milton. Mike Bedigan and Kelly Rissman delve into his sprawling criminal history that rocked the boat and social media
‘Selfish child’: Chris Christie slams Trump for politicizing Hurricane Milton
Chris Christie has slammed Donald Trump for politicizing Hurricane Milton as Florida begins recovery efforts from the “once in a lifetime” storm.
“He is a selfish child,” Christie told The New York Times opinion journalist Frank Bruni.
“And he doesn’t care that these people in North Carolina are suffering the way they are, if caring costs him one bit of perceived political advantage.”
Trump has been peddling conspiracies about the federal government’s response to both Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including a debunked claim that money from FEMA is being diverted away from hurricane survivors towards illegal migrants.
Fake photos of Disney World flooded during Hurricane Milton spread online by Russian news agency
Images spread online supposedly showing Disney World in Florida underwater as a result of Hurricane Milton appear to be fake and have been generated using artificial intelligence.
Disney World, located in Orlando, Florida, announced they would close their theme parks amid rare measures ahead of the dangerous Hurricane Milton directly hitting the area, bringing with it strong winds, heavy rainfall and hazardous storm surge.
As Milton made landfall on Wednesday, all three Orlando-based parks, including Universal Orlando and SeaWorld alongside Disney, ground to a halt and shut down operations that would have usually welcomed tens of thousands of tourists.
Read more:
AI-generated images of Disney World flooded by Hurricane Milton circulate online
The photos have been widely circulated online, falsely showing the theme park underwater
1.6 million still without power in Florida
Three days after Milton smashed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, 1.6 million homes are still in the dark.
As of around 11am ET Saturday morning, 1.58 million customers were without power in the Sunshine State, according to Poweroutage.us.
In hard-hit Pinellas County, more than half were still in the midst of a power outage (373,000 out of 567,000 customers).
Brit recalls ‘holiday from hell’ with seven children as Hurricane Milton devastates Florida
A British holidaymaker has described his “holiday from hell” after he was stuck in Florida with his brother and seven young children as Hurricane Milton made landfall in the US.
Jordan Sly was due to fly back to London on Wednesday with his three children, his brother Zak, and Zak’s four children. But as Hurricane Milton approached and Florida braced for its second devastating storm in as many weeks, their flight home was cancelled.
The seven children, aged between four months and 11 years old, were put to bed by Mr Sly and his brother in their Davenport holiday home. But when the storm hit in the early hours of the morning, chaos followed.
The Independent’s Alex Croft has more:
Brit recalls ‘holiday from hell’ with 7 children as Hurricane Milton strikes Florida
Jordan Sly recalls ‘everyone screaming’ as Hurricane Milton struck, setting off the alarms in their holiday home
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