Hurricane Milton latest: Biden visits hard-hit communities in Florida as power outages continue in Tampa

Florida gas stations are still struggling to get fuel to customers in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

Nearly 30 percent of the state’s gas stations had no fuel as of early Sunday, according to GasBuddy.com.

In some areas, like Tampa-St. Petersburg, a full three quarters of stations lacked any fuel.

Students in the University of South Florida system got some welcomed news on Sunday.

Classes will resume at USF’s Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses on Monday, October 14, according to the university.

“Reopening will allow faculty and staff who don’t have power at home to work on campus as they are able to do so safely,” the school said. “This entire week on all campuses some services may be limited, and some facilities may have reduced hours.”

More than 517,000 people remained without electricity in Florida as of late Sunday evening, according to utilities tracker Poweroutage.us.

They join the more than 17,000 people in North Carolina still cut off from the grid in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

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.

“Americans who need help, Americans who would help you if you were in a similar situation. We are one United States. One United States.”

The Florida investments include $47m to Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47m to Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.

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.

Read more in our full story.

A woman who says she’s the daughter of Joseph Malinowski, 54 — a Tampa, Florida man who went viral and was dubbed “Lieutenant Dan” for his decision to ride out the approaching hurricanes Helene and Milton on his boat — is worried that his sudden fame and donations from wellwishers will put her father at risk.

Ashley Ann Malinowski voiced her concern in a series of TikToks on Friday.

“Lieutenant Dan was doing just fine without all that money,” she told viewers in one video.

“Y’all TikTok f***ing famous people, y’all blowing him up and he’s gonna be dead before he can f***ing enjoy that boat and stuff. Because look at him, after y’all got a hold of him and now he’s high as f*** on all these videos.”

More details in our full story.

Hurricane Milton didn’t just impact Florida’s human residents. It also caused massive disruptions for the state’s famous wildlife.

Species like long-winged sooty terns and firgatebirds were blown hundreds of miles outside of their usual range, into states like Indiana and Kentucky.

Hurricane Helene, meanwhile, interrupted the migration of over 100 million birds, The Washington Post reports.

Hurricane Milton didn’t just impact Florida’s human residents. It also caused massive disruptions for the state’s famous wildlife.

Species like long-winged sooty terns and firgatebirds were blown hundreds of miles outside of their usual range, into states like Indiana and Kentucky.

Hurricane Helene, meanwhile, interrupted the migration of over 100 million birds, The Washington Post reports.