Florida residents repair hurricane damage Milton and cleaned up debris Friday after the storm that devastated coastal communities, flooded streets and spawned a series of deadly tornadoes.
At least 16 people died, but many expressed relief that Milton hasn’t been even worse. The hurricane resulted in only one death in the densely populated city of Tampa, and the deadly storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating hurricane Helenethe system flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.
As residents assessed the damage to their properties, about 2.4 million customers in Florida still did not have power as of Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us. But the state’s vital tourism industry has begun to return to normal, with several theme parks preparing to reopen.
Thursday evening, a stream of vehicles headed south on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the center of the state, as rescue workers and evacuated residents returned to assess the aftermath. Fuel tankers paraded past, along with portable toilet trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles.
As residents rushed to find out if their homes had been destroyed or spared, finding gasoline remained a challenge. Gas stations were still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a 2 1/2-hour drive north of where the storm made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on Wednesday evening.
Lucky to be alive
Natasha Ducre and her husband, Terry, just felt lucky to be alive. Milton tore the tin roof off their home in their neighborhood north of the Manatee River, about a 45-minute drive south of Tampa.
She insisted on leaving as the storm bore down on them Wednesday night after her husband resisted evacuating their three-bedroom home where he grew up and where the couple lived with their three children and two grandchildren . She believes this decision saved their lives.
When they returned, they found the roof of their house scattered in pieces across the street, the wooden beams of what was their ceiling exposed to the sky. Inside, the fiberglass insulation hung in tatters and their belongings were soaked by the rain.
“It’s not much, but it was ours. What little we had is gone, she said. It’s gone. »
With shelters no longer available and the cost of a hotel room out of reach, they plan to crowd into Terry Ducre’s mother’s house for now. After that, they are not sure.
“I don’t have an answer,” she said. What is my next step? What am I going to do? »
Back to normal
Meanwhile, Florida theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, reopened Friday after an assessment of the storm’s effects.
Orlando International Airport, the state’s busiest, announced that domestic and international flight departures will resume Friday, after domestic arrivals resume Thursday evening. The airport suffered minor damage, including some leaks and downed trees.
The Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers also reopened Friday.
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and Patrick Space Base near Cocoa Beach remain closed, with only authorized personnel allowed access. MacDill Base, home to U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command, suffered damage and flooding, Air Force officials said. The Patrick base was spared significant damage.