Floridians face fuel shortage after Milton passes

Floridians recovering from the hurricane Miltonmany of whom are returning home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm, spent much of Saturday searching for gasoline as a fuel shortage hits the US state.

In St. Petersburg, dozens of people waited in line at a gas station that was out of gas, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them were Daniel Thornton and his nine-year-old daughter, Magnolia, who arrived at the station at 7 a.m., and were still waiting four hours later.

“They told me they had gas coming, but they didn’t know when it would be there,” Mr. Thornton said. I have no choice. I have to sit here all day with her until I get gas. »

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state has opened three fuel distribution sites and plans to open several more. Residents can get 37.85 liters each, free of charge, he said.

“Obviously, when the power comes back on…and the Port of Tampa is open, you’ll see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” DeSantis said.

Authorities restocked area gas stations with state fuel reserves and provided generators to stations that remained without power.

New damage after “Helene”

Those who returned home assessed the damage and began the arduous cleanup process. Some, like Bill O’Connell, board member of Bahia Vista Gulf in Venice Township, thought they were done after the condo association hired companies to empty, treat and dry the housing units after the hurricane Helene. Milton undone that work and caused further damage, Mr O’Connell said.

“It re-flooded everything that was already flooded, brought back all the sand on our property that we had removed,” detailed Mr. O’Connell. “And also caused catastrophic wind damage, tore off many roofs and blew out many windows which caused more damage to the interior of the units. »

Both hurricanes left a devastation in the fishing village of Cortez, a community of 4,100 located north of Sarasota Bay. Residents of its modest single-story homes with wood and stucco facades struggled to remove broken furniture and tree branches, piling debris in the street as they had done after the hurricane Helene.

“Everything is screwed,” said Mark Praught, a retired Manatee County street sweeper who saw storm surges of 4 feet during Helene. “We’ll replace the electrical and plumbing and we’ll go from there.” »

Joe Biden in Florida on Sunday

Milton killed at least 10 people after making landfall as a Category 3 storm, tearing through central Florida, flooding barrier islands and spawning deadly tornadoes. Authorities say the toll could have been worse without widespread evacuations.

In total, more than 1,000 people had been rescued from the storm as of Saturday, DeSantis said.

The material damage and economic costs are counted in billions of dollars.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden will review the devastation inflicted on Florida’s Gulf Coast by the hurricane. He said he hopes to connect with Mr. DeSantis during the visit.

The trip gives President Biden a new opportunity to pressure Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to call lawmakers back to Washington to approve more funding during their pre-election recess. This is something Mr Johnson has said he will not do.

Mr. Biden argues that Congress must act now to ensure that the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have the money they need to get through the hurricane season, which extends into November in the ‘Atlantic.

Mr. DeSantis welcomed the federal government’s approval of a disaster declaration announced Saturday and said he received strong support from Mr. Biden.

Moody’s Analytics estimated Saturday that the economic costs of the storm would be between $50 billion and $85 billion, including more than $70 billion in property damage and up to $15 billion in lost economic output.

Security threats remain, including rising rivers.

As the recovery continues, Mr. DeSantis warned citizens to be cautious, citing continued security threats including downed power lines and standing water. According to poweroutage.us, 1.3 million Floridians were still without power as of Saturday afternoon.

National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Close said rivers “will continue to rise” for the next four or five days, leading to flooding, mainly around Tampa Bay and to the north. These areas were hardest hit by the rains, adding to a wet summer that included several hurricanes.

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