Hurricane Milton live updates: Biden visits hard-hit communities in Florida as power outages continue in Tampa
Forecasters have warned that the threat of dangerous flooding will remain in place for days or even weeks
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President Joe Biden is visiting Florida today to tour communities impacted by Hurricane Milton.
During the visit, the president is expected to announce more than $600m in funding for projects for electric grid resilience, to help the state become better equipped to deal with future storms.
With the storm also impacting fuel delivery, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the state is also offering free gasoline at state fuel depots.
So far, at least 17 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night, spawning dozens of tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and devastating storm surge.
Six people in St Lucie County retirement village were killed by tornadoes brought on by the hurricane after a dozen twisters spawned in the region within 20 minutes.
While Floridians return home to survey the damage to their communities, officials are warning that major flooding could still hit north of Tampa.
As of Sunday morning, more than 900,000 homes were still without power in Florida, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted. Damage from the storm is estimated to have cost upwards of $160bn.
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Biden announces $612m electric grid investments during visit to survey Hurricane Milton damage in Florida
President Joe Biden anounced $612m funding for investments in the electric grid, including $94m for storm-battered Florida, during a visit Sunday to the Sunshine State to survey the damage from Hurricane Milton.
“Moments like this we come together to take care of each other – not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans,” Biden said during remarks in St. Pete Beach. Such projects will form a part of the state’s long-term recovery from Hurricanes Milton and Helene, which raged over the state over a period of less than two weeks between late September and this Wednesday, when Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm.
At least 23 people in Florida are dead as a result of Milton.
The fallen include a woman crushed by a tree in her bedroom in Ormond Beach, an 89-year-old who had a cardiac emergency as paramedics were unable to answer calls, and an Orange County man electrocuted while cleaning post-storm detritus, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
More details in our full story.
Biden announces $612m in grid investments during visit to survey Hurricane Milton
State reeling from two major hurricanes in less than two weeks
Milton death toll now at 23
At least 23 people have died as a result of Hurricane Milton, according to reporting from the Tampa Bay Times.
The dead include an older woman crushed by a tree in Ormond Beach, an 89-year-old who suffered a cardiac emergency as parademics stopped responding to calls, and an Orange County man electrocuted whil cleaning up post-storm debris.
The state has also rescued more than 1,000 people stranded in homes and other buildings, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said yesterday.
Meanwhile in Asheville, weeks without running water
As Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton, North Carolina is still reeling from Hurricane Helene.
The hard-hit city of Asheville still doesn’t have running water, and 40,000 customers remain without electricity in the western part of the state.
There are 93 storm-related deaths in the state, North Carolina officials said on Sunday.
Pictures: Biden visits Florida to inspect hurricane damage
Biden announces $612m funding for projects
Biden has announced $612m funding for projects for electric grid resilience, to help prepare for future major storms.
The $612m will be spent on six new cutting-edge projects to support communities.
This includes $94m for projects specifically in Florida, including $47m to Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47m to Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.
‘We are one United States’ : Biden speaks of united response to Hurricane Milton
Biden spoke of Americans coming together in response to Hurricane Milton.
“Moments like this we come together to take care of each other – not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans,” he said.
“Americans who need help, Americans who would help you if you were in a similar situation. We are one United States. One United States.”
Biden delivers remarks in St. Pete Beach, Florida
Biden is delivering remarks in St. Pete Beach, Florida, after surveying the damage caused by Hurricane Milton.
The president pointed out that this was the second time in two weeks that he had visited the state in response to two separate “catastrophic” storms.
“Thankfully it was not as cataclysmic as predicted,” Biden said of Milton.
However, he said that many Floridiana had lost their homes and that he had spoken with homeowners who are “heartbroken and exhausted” while also facing “expenses [are] racking up.”
Live: Biden visits Florida after Hurricane Milton
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Speaker Mike Johnson says hurricane aid ‘can wait'
House Speaker Mike Johnson has claimed that hurricane aid “can wait” until Congress is back in session after the November election.
Several lawmakers – including Republicans – have called for lawmakers to be brought back to session early in order to pass legislation to provide additional funding to those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Johnson has refused.
The Republican appeared on CBS News’s Face The Nation on Sunday where he was asked why he thinks it can wait.
“Well, it can wait because, remember, the day before Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and then went up through the states and wound up in Senator Tillis’ state of North Carolina, Congress appropriated 20 billion additional dollars to FEMA so that they would have the necessary resources to address immediate needs,” he said.
900k still without power in Florida
Four days after Milton smashed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, more than 900,000 homes are still in the dark.
As of around 11am ET Sunday morning, 944,000 customers were without power in the Sunshine State, according to Poweroutage.us.
In hard-hit Pinellas County, around half were still in the midst of a power outage (281,000 out of 567,000 customers).
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