Hurricane Milton latest: 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 visited Florida on Sunday to tour communities impacted by Hurricane Milton.
During the visit, the president announced more than $600m in funding for projects for electric grid resilience to help the state become better equipped to deal with future storms.
So far, at least 23 people have died 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 evening, more than 517,000 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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President Biden to visit Tampa area on Sunday
President Joe Biden will visit Florida on Sunday to survey the damage from Hurricane Milton, WTSP reports.
The president is set to arrive at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base, then conduct an aerial tour of storm damage in the surrounding area.
He’ll then head to St. Petersburg and get a briefing on the state of the disaster response.
Biden will then depart for Philadelphia.
Viral fame brings concern for a family after hurricanes
A woman who says she’s the daughter of Joseph Malinowski, 54 — a Tampa, Florida man who went viral and was dubbed “Lieutenant Dan” for his decision to ride out the approaching hurricanes Helene and Milton on his boat — is worried that his sudden fame and donations from wellwishers will put her father at risk.
Ashley Anny Malinowski voiced her concern in a series of TikToks on Friday.
“Lieutenant Dan was doing just fine without all that money,” she told viewers in one video.
“Y’all TikTok f***ing famous people, y’all blowing him up and he’s gonna be dead before he can f***ing enjoy that boat and stuff. Because Look at him, after y’all got a hold of him and now he’s high as f*** on all these videos.”
More details in our full story.
The new threat of conspiratorial disaster relief
In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, partisan politics have encouraged the frightening spread of conspiracies about disaster relief.
Last week, Kelly Rissman had this look about the new phenomenon.
How Trump and his allies spread false claims about FEMA and Hurricane Helene relief
As the southeastern US braces for yet another hurricane, Trump and his loyalists are busy spreading falsehoods about the federal response to the last one
Photos capture devastation of Hurricane Milton
White House announces Florida disaster declaration
Florida is officially a major disaster area, according to the Biden adminsitration.
The White House declared the state a major disaster area yesterday, it announced on Saturday, freeing up federal funding for impacted counties.
It’s a move that’s at odds with the recent apparent political conflict between vice president Kamala Harris and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
‘It’s not about you Kamala!’ DeSantis lashes out at Harris over Hurricane Milton
Spat comes as Florida braces for ‘once-in-a-lifetime storm’
Pinellas County schools closed through Monday
Schools in Pinellas County, a peninsula containing the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, will remain closed on Monday, education officials announced, as the hard hit Tampa Bay region continues to recover from Hurricane Milton.
“No decision has been made about Tuesday, October 15,” the school system wrote on its website. “The district will communicate this decision by noon on Monday, October 14, and will be based on the closure of shelters and the stability of the power grid.”
DeSantis announces free gas as Florida faces fuel crunch
In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, residents of Florida are facing long lines to get fuel from gas stations with disrupted supply lines.
On Saturday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced residents would be able to get up to 10 gallons of free fuel from three state-run fuel depots spread across Plant City, Bradenton, and St. Petersburg.
The governor added three more such fuel depots were in the works.
Nearly a third of Florida gas stations lack fuel: tracker
The storm may be passed, but now Florida is contending with other challenges in Milton’s wake, like a severe fuel shortage.
According to gas tracking website GasBuddy, just under 30 percent of Florida gas stations were without fuel as of its most recent count yesterday.
How much is Hurricane Milton going to cost Florida?
Hurricane Milton was the fifth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, and it could end up costing Florida billions in dollars of damages.
Insurers alone are expected to offer between $30 billion and $60 billion in payouts, according to Reuters.
Taking in the wider impact on property damage, lost economic activity, and long-term healthcare costs, the storm could end up causing $160 billion in total losses, according to an estimate from AccuWeather.
That’s on top Hurricane Helene’s estimated $225 - 250 billion impact.
How Milton could jack up the Florida insurance market
Residents of Florida pay the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the U.S., and Hurricane Milton could make things even worse.
The storm has prompted more than 12,000 claims with the state’s insurer of last restort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., and caused more than $586m in damage to insured properties.
That kind of financial exposure could lead the insurer to impose new surcharges on customers, according to Florida Politics.
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