Floods, blackouts and gas shortages: Florida faces headwinds after hurricanes Helene and Milton

() – On a dark night, a fierce storm dealt Florida a severe blow to the head. Less than two weeks later, another one tore his heart.

After Helene’s strong winds, torrential rains and a wall of water claimed 20 lives in the state along its path from south to north, Milton claimed at least 17 more, bringing the fury of the ocean to land with several feet of storm surge, three months’ worth of rain falling in three hours in some areas, and a deadly outbreak of tornadoes as it churned from west to east.

The trail of destruction from the Gulf to the Atlantic is enormous. There are hundreds of streets flooded, blocked by fallen trees or damaged, impassable. Exhausted emergency teams have rescued more than a thousand people. And the electrical grid, which was already weakened, collapsed, affecting millions of people.

Even in a state accustomed to bouts of severe weather, facing food and gasoline shortages, a tangle of insurance paperwork and scattered debris from the last hurricane again, Floridians must now try to recover from back-to-back “once-in-a-lifetime” storms. life.”

These are the latest news:

– Flooding remains a threat along swollen rivers: Milton’s flood has left behind several swollen rivers that are slow to recede in central and northern Florida, following a pattern seen during other tropical storms and hurricanes that have approached the state in recent years. High water slowly drains across Florida’s flat terrain, prolonging flooding and prompting several of the rescues that continued Saturday. meteorologists said areas near Tampa downstream of the Hillsborough River, which remained at major flood stage early Saturday, could see more flooding in the coming days. The Alafia River in Lithia, east of Tampa, crossed flood stage this Thursday and exceeded 7 meters this Friday. The Anclote River north of Clearwater and the St. Johns River between Orlando and Daytona Beach, which are nearing new all-time highs, are expected to remain in high flood phase through the weekend. Among the more than 1,200 people rescued since Milton made landfall, there are several trapped in flooded homes.

– Millions of people are still without electricity: The number of Florida customers still without power dropped by more than one million between Thursday morning and Friday afternoon, signaling progress by energy companies working to restore power across the state. . But just under 2 million were still without power early Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us. A blackout left Sanibel, Florida’s sewer system out of service Friday, prompting the city manager to urge residents not to use their toilets or showers.

– Gasoline shortage continues throughout the state: Gasoline was hard to come by in the Tampa Bay area as ongoing fuel shortages wiped out more than three of every four area gas stations Friday afternoon, according to the Tampa Bay price tracking platform. GasBuddy gasoline. Across Florida, nearly 30% of gas stations were out of fuel, with 77.5% of cases reported in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. State officials were working to distribute fuel “as quickly as humanly possible,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said, adding Friday that the state still had an inventory of 1 million gallons of gas.

– Reopening of airports, seaports and theme parks: Tampa International Airport has reopened after service was suspended for three days, while Sarasota Bradenton International Airport remained closed this Friday. The Coast Guard has reopened some Florida ports, as well as several ports in Georgia and South Carolina, although many Florida ports remained closed Friday. Meanwhile, the Walt Disney World, Aquatica Orlando, Discovery Cove and SeaWorld Orlando theme parks have returned to welcoming visitors.

Cleanup crews working to clear debris across Milton-hit Florida over the weekend are working on a “24/7 operation,” DeSantis said Friday as the state tries to speed up the process. “The norm in a major hurricane, debris sometimes takes a year to be picked up,” DeSantis said. “I don’t think that makes sense. I don’t think it’s good for recovery.”

Crews are having to deal with thousands of downed trees, some of which are tangled in power lines. Duke Energy, Florida’s largest power company, warned people who might want to remove debris themselves about the possibility of downed lines hidden under the rubble.

“We are encouraging them to stay away from debris where there would potentially be any type of overhead wire,” Melissa Seixas, Florida president of Duke Energy, told ‘s Kate Bolduan on Friday. “They don’t necessarily sparkle. They don’t necessarily whistle. But they are a silent killer and deadly to someone who is not trained to handle them.”

Meanwhile, Florida authorities are urging people to be aware of financial predators when hiring Milton-related repair services.
“Many areas in the county have incurred severe property damage due to the consecutive impacts of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” Pinellas County Consumer Protection said in a public notice Thursday.
“Beware of fly-by-night contractors who take deposits and do little or no work,” the notice said. “Avoid dealing with anyone who solicits work door-to-door; Take the opportunity to investigate them first.”

Florida consumer protection teams encouraged people who want to donate funds to the recovery to “request a copy of the charity’s financial report to determine what part of your contribution goes to the cause and what part goes to administrative and administrative expenses.” fundraising.”

On Sunday, President Joe Biden will visit parts of Florida affected by Milton, the White House reported this Friday.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency has enough funding to “support the immediate needs” of people reeling from the impacts of both Helene and Milton, but will require additional funding soon.

“We are evaluating daily with my team and with Congress to what extent it is running out, we are evaluating when we will need additional funding,” Criswell said at a press conference this Friday. “We will need it, it’s just a matter of knowing when.”

He encouraged survivors to apply for assistance to help with temporary shelter and long-term recovery costs, adding that FEMA would work with affected communities to remove debris from both hurricanes.

The American Red Cross said its teams are searching for missing people after Milton passed through Florida, as continued power outages and limited internet connectivity have left some people unable to contact their loved ones.

People who have trouble contacting family and friends can submit a request through the Red Cross website, the organization said. This Saturday, its teams continued the search for missing people after Hurricane Helene passed through Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Florida.

This Thursday, the Red Cross said it is helping to support 83,000 people who sought refuge in Florida evacuation shelters.

“As conditions improve, dozens of emergency response vehicles will begin traveling through affected neighborhoods, delivering meals and relief supplies,” the nonprofit organization said in a news release.

‘s Andy Rose contributed to this report.