Hurricane Milton live updates: Biden visits hard-hit communities in Florida as power outages continue in Tampa
Forecasters have warned that the threat of dangerous flooding will remain in place for days or even weeks
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President Joe Biden is visiting Florida today to tour communities impacted by Hurricane Milton.
During the visit, the president is expected to announce more than $600m in funding for projects for electric grid resilience, to help the state become better equipped to deal with future storms.
With the storm also impacting fuel delivery, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the state is also offering free gasoline at state fuel depots.
So far, at least 17 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night, spawning dozens of tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and devastating storm surge.
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.
While Floridians return home to survey the damage to their communities, officials are warning that major flooding could still hit north of Tampa.
As of Sunday morning, more than 900,000 homes were still without power in Florida, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted. Damage from the storm is estimated to have cost upwards of $160bn.
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How Hurricane Milton compares to other historic storms
Residents of Florida have been left reeling by Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm which has led to at least 14 deaths, 3.4 million power outages and significant damage which is yet to be determined.
Hundreds of people were rescued Thursday in the aftermath of the storm, which brought historic rainfall in Tampa, flung debris and trees around streets, and left the Tampa Bay Rays’ St Petersburg field in shambles.
Amid evacuation alerts for millions, experts had warned that this could be one of the deadliest and most destructive storms in recent years, just as residents started to pick up the pieces from last month’s Hurricane Helene.
With the toll of its destruction still in limbo, how does Milton compare to the most fatal hurricanes in the 21st century?
Alicja Hagopian and Julia Musto report.
Hurricane Milton damage: ‘Storm of the century’ versus other hurricanes
Deaths, power outages, and billions in destruction; the damage of Hurricane Milton is still unfolding, but is it one of the worst this century? Alicja Hagopian and Julia Musto report
Governor joins relief effort as Walmart provides household necessities
Florida governor Ron DeSantis pitched in on Saturday with the Hurricane Milton relief efforts, handing out supply packs to families at the Pioner Park Point of Distruction in Hardee County.
Retailer Walmart also joined the action, supplying household necessities to Florida residents.
Floridians can find their nearest aid distribution center at the Florida Devision of Emergency Management website.
How tornadoes devastated communities far from Milton’s landfall
Tony Brazzale, a diving boat captain who has lived for 10 years in his Wellington home in southeastern Florida, wasn’t worried about Hurricane Milton. The storm’s center was forecast to make landfall on the opposite side of the peninsula and then cross the state well to the north of his family.
But on Wednesday afternoon as the hurricane began to pummel the state, he stood outside his house and watched as a tornado loomed in the sky. He took video on his phone. The pressure dropped, and his wife said her ears were popping. It was time to go inside.
The twister shattered windows in the home, tore off roof shingles, ripped a tree from the ground and left branches and other debris scattered in the yard. Two days later Brazzale was wearing safety goggles and using a chainsaw as he cleaned up the damage.
“The hurricane was a nonevent for us,” he said. “Had it not been for an F-3 tornado, the entire thing would have been a nonevent for us.”
It was one of dozens of tornadoes spawned by Milton that hit South Florida far from where the storm made landfall near Sarasota. One of them killed at least six people in Spanish Lakes Country Club Village near Fort Pierce, about an hour’s drive north from Wellington.
Meteorologists believe there may have been at least 38 tornadoes associated with Milton. The National Weather Service is still reviewing preliminary reports, which could take weeks, but it issued 126 tornado warnings in the state the day the hurricane hit.
When the review is complete, the storm could crack the all-time top-10 list for most tornadoes caused by a hurricane.
The highest number of confirmed tornadoes from a hurricane were the 118 unleashed by Ivan in 2004, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricane Beryl, which hit in July of this year and is still under review, generated at least 65 confirmed tornadoes and currently ranks fifth.
By comparison, Florida overall typically sees about 50 tornadoes a year on average, according to Matthew Elliot, a warning coordination meteorologist for the Storm Prediction Center.
In Wellington, 210 miles (340 kilometers) southeast of Tampa near West Palm Beach on the Atlantic Coast, sheriff’s deputies spent Friday morning and afternoon helping residents clean up debris and move large trees that were obstructing roads.
Brazzale toiled to fix roof tiles and replace his shattered windows. Throughout his neighborhood, Pine Trace at Binks Forest, others were doing the same thing — cleaning up debris, putting tarps on damaged roofs and chain sawing fallen trees and branches.
The most important thing is that nobody died here, Brazzale said.
“It’s a significant pressure drop when one of those things goes over,” he said of the tornado. “You heard it. It was a freight train.”
The Associated Press
Pictured: Aftermath of Hurricane Milton
Watch: DeSantis denies climate change is making hurricanes more powerful
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
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