Milton aftermath – Florida Power & Electric service work truck on the side of the road – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by YES Market Media
On Monday morning, days after Hurricane Milton ripped through Florida leaving a path of devastation that was most severe on the west-central coast, over half a million Floridians were still without electricity.
When the terrible hurricane made landfall on Wednesday night as a Category 3, it destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, tore apart towns, and killed at least 17 people.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden made his second trip to Florida in just over a week, seeing a state that had been devastated by two consecutive hurricanes, leaving its residents struggling with gas shortages, power outages, and ongoing floods. A disaster declaration, which Biden had authorized the day before, will release federal funds for Milton victims, including loans, home repairs, and grants for temporary accommodation.
In addition, Biden promised $612 million more to help towns affected by recent hurricanes during his remarks at St. Pete Beach. Gainesville Regional Utilities will receive $47 million of that total, while Florida Power and Light will receive an additional $47 million to aid in the restoration of power and “make the region’s power system stronger and more capable.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to get power back in your home, not only helping you recover, but to help you build back stronger,” added Vice President Biden.
The USA TODAY power outage tracker estimates that as of Monday morning, about 460,000 households and businesses in Florida were still without electricity.
The west-central coast is still the most severely affected, with Hillsborough County seeing around 170,000 outages and Pinellas County experiencing another 95,000.
Just under 52,000 homes and businesses in Manatee County were without power Monday morning, while 39,000 outages were reported in Sarasota County, farther south.
In Florida, attempts to restore power are ongoing.
As of Sunday, Florida Power and Light Company reported that it had restored power to over 90% of its customers and was on target to bring electricity back to every school by the end of the weekend.
Twenty thousand employees have been sent by the corporation to work nonstop in forty-one states and Canada.
“Crews continue to work around the clock and will not stop until every customer has their lights back on,” FPL stated in a press release.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.