On Oct. 9, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 storm.
The storm was originally projected to hit as a Category 4 storm, but is still the fastest intensifying Atlantic storm on record.
Milton brought multiple threats to Floridians, including high winds, tornadoes, a deadly storm surge and torrential rain.
Fourteen counties were under evacuation orders ahead of the hurricane.
“If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in an interview with CNN.
Just two weeks before Hurricane Milton made landfall, Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane. Helene is now the second deadliest hurricane to strike the United States, following Hurricane Katrina which killed 1,833 people in 2005.
Dedrick Mobley Jr., a North Carolina and Georgia native, shared photos of the destruction that Helene left behind in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia.
“Debris (is) everywhere,” Mobley said. “I worry for my family in Georgia.”
The debris Helene left in Florida is one of the reasons why Floridians struggled to evacuate, along with a lack of gas and shortage of shelters.
In an effort to help evacuees, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis teamed up with Uber to offer free rides to shelters for affected counties.
Carl Ternier, an Orlando native who now lives in North Carolina, helped his family evacuate Orlando.
“The debris (is) the main problem,” Ternier said. “My family is stuck in Orlando due to closed roads.”
There have been 38 eyewitness reports of tornadoes in Florida as a result of Milton.The state only sees on average 50 tornadoes per year.
More than 2.3 million people are without power in Florida and the death toll continues to rise.
The National Weather Service said that 19 inches of rain fell in the St. Petersburg area and a storm surge of 10 feet was reported in Sarasota County.
Nathaniel Lauck, a close friend of Mobley and Ternier, talks about how the devastation has affected his friends and family.
“Watching two horrific storms hit the south makes me wonder what is next for all of us,” Lauck said.“The recovery efforts are going to take a long time, especially in rural areas where families are still lost.”
FEMA has activated disaster recovery centers in Florida, along with emergency response resources. Flordians impacted by Milton are now able to apply for disaster relief due to the declaration of Milton as a disaster.
So far, 1,200 people and 140 animals have been rescued by search and rescue teams on the ground.
Evacuees were able to return on Oct. 11 to clean up debris, but came back to destroyed homes and flooded neighborhoods.
Rescue crews are still surveying the damage, with officials using airboats to reach people in north Tampa.
Orlando International Airport resumed flights on Friday, Oct. 11, suffering only minor damage as a result of the storms.
Florida’s tourism sector, such as Disney World and Sea World, opened their doors to the public on Friday as well.
On Oct. 10, President Joe Biden held a press conference on recovery efforts for Hurricane Milton. Biden promised Floridians that they will get the help they need and stressed that it is still too early to properly assess all damages across the state.
Biden told former president Donald Trump to “get a life, man. Help these people” over the spread of misinformation about Hurricane Milton.
Several aid organizations are already on the ground, helping with recovery efforts.
“The south is strong, we will get through this, but this storm worried me like no other,” Lauck said. “People were left to die due to mother nature.”
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