Milton recovery efforts underway in Florida as 2.4M without power

(NewsNation) — Crews resumed rescue and betterment efforts Friday greeting successful Florida, moving astir the timepiece to assistance radical successful the wake of Hurricane Milton.

At slightest 10 storm-related deaths person been reported truthful far, according to the White House. NewsNation section affiliate WFLA reported that 1 of those killed was a Polk County worker who was helping with cleanup.

As of 7 a.m. ET Friday, much than 2.4 cardinal customers remained without powerfulness successful Florida, according to poweroutage.us.

Still, galore expressed alleviation that Milton wasn’t worse. The hurricane spared densely populated Tampa a nonstop hit, and the lethal tempest surge that scientists feared ne'er materialized.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that portion the tempest “was significant,” it “was not the worst-case scenario.” He noted that arsenic helium flew implicit immoderate of the hard-hit areas, helium saw that galore homes that were built successful caller years fared well.

“I’ve seen a batch of grit, I’ve seen a batch of determination and I’m precise assured that this country is going to bounce backmost very, precise quickly,” DeSantis said.

Hurricane Milton's interaction crossed Florida

Milton made landfall Wednesday evening successful Siesta Key arsenic a Category 3 storm. By Thursday afternoon, Milton had moved disconnected Florida's eastbound seashore and became a post-tropical cyclone that nary longer had hurricane-force winds.

Following Hurricane Milton’s landfall, rescue crews person been surveying the damage, with those successful northbound Tampa utilizing airboats to scope people.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said crews person been moving hard done the greeting to reach those successful request of help.

Arriving conscionable 2 weeks aft the devastating Hurricane Helene, the strategy knocked retired powerfulness to much than 3 cardinal customers, flooded obstruction islands, tore the extortion disconnected the Tampa Bay Rays' shot stadium and toppled a operation crane.

Officials successful hard-hit counties person warned radical to beware of downed powerfulness lines, trees successful roads, blocked bridges and flooding. Before Milton adjacent made landfall, dense rainfall and tornadoes lashed parts of confederate Florida.

Just inland from Tampa, the flooding successful Plant City was “absolutely staggering,” according to City Manager Bill McDaniel.

The National Weather Service said astir 19 inches of rainfall fell successful the St. Petersburg area. A tempest surge of 8 to 10 feet was reported successful Sarasota County. Milton rapidly weakened to a Category 1 tempest arsenic it moved implicit land.

President Joe Biden called connected Congress to determination arsenic accelerated arsenic it could to get exigency backing to the Sunshine State.

DeSantis pledged to nonstop immoderate resources helium could into Pinellas County communities Friday. It's an country that was mostly spared during Milton but was deed hard by Hurricane Helene, resulting successful 12 deaths 2 weeks prior.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the pursuing ports are present open: Key West, Port Everglades, Port Miami and the Miami River. The pursuing ports stay closed: St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, Fort of Palm Beach, Fort Pierce, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville and Fernandina.

Tourism concern resumes aft Hurricane Milton

As the cleanup continued, the state’s captious tourism manufacture was opening to instrumentality to normal.

The Tampa International Airport volition reopen Friday astatine 8 a.m. EDT aft a three-day formation suspension owed to Hurricane Milton.

The airdrome said it is moving with the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration and different airlines to purpose for a Friday greeting reopening.

Flooding damaged a hangar Wednesday.

Florida taxable parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld planned to reopen Friday aft an appraisal of the effects of Hurricane Milton.

Some Halloween peculiar events won’t beryllium offered and they won’t needfully beryllium afloat functioning Friday, but the nationalist is invited back, the parks said successful statements.

As Milton came ashore arsenic a large tempest Wednesday, each 3 Orlando-based parks unopen down, putting a damper connected the vacations of tens of thousands of tourists, galore of whom hunkered down successful hotels. Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld were each closed for astatine slightest portion of Wednesday and each of Thursday.

Orlando International Airport, Florida’s busiest, resumed home arrivals Thursday and planned to resume departures Friday aft mostly shutting down Wednesday.

In Tampa, the animals were harmless astatine fashionable tourer attractions ZooTampa and The Florida Aquarium, which person aimed to reopen Saturday.

The 1,000 animals astatine the zoo volition stay successful their nighttime houses and hurricane structure locations portion habitats are cleared of debris, a spokesperson said. The aquarium besides confirmed its animals are “doing well.”

The zoo sustained immoderate harm from the precocious winds and does not person power, and the spokesperson anticipates the debris cleanup and restoration, which is already underway, volition instrumentality a fewer days.

All conservation parks, quality preserves, trails, neighborhood/specialty parks and diversion complexes successful Hillsborough County volition beryllium closed until further notice.

Officials pass of hurricane alleviation scams

As alleviation efforts continue, the U.S. Department of Justice is alerting the nationalist to a emergence successful scams aimed astatine exploiting victims of these disasters.

According to the DOJ, scammers are speedy to exploit upwind disasters and the radical affected by them.

Officials besides reminded radical that if their spot was damaged by some Helene and Milton, they would request to apply for catastrophe assistance twice, with abstracted applications for the damage from each storm.

Are much hurricanes heading for Florida?

As Milton exits Florida, the National Hurricane Center continues to show different strategy successful the Atlantic, which is not expected to marque landfall oregon travel adjacent to the U.S.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. Friday advisory, Tropical Storm Leslie was astir 1,600 miles west-southwest of the Azores, a radical of islands successful the mid-Atlantic, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.

The tempest is expected to crook northeast and veer distant from the U.S. implicit the adjacent fewer days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.