More than 1.6 million Floridians are still without power in the wake of Hurricane Milton, according to the nationwide tracking site, PowerOutage.us.
Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida on Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane, hit just as residents were still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. NBC News reported Friday evening that at least 17 people have been confirmed dead in the state.
Just 48 hours after Milton hit Florida, nearly 2 million people were without power, NBC News said. More than 3 million people were without power at one point.
NBC News said that some areas will be unable to reach restoration for almost a week. As of Friday around 4 p.m., Florida Power and Light Company said that there were 650,000 customers without power, but that 1.3 million had been restored, per NBC News.
President Biden had spoken with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday to discuss the impacts of the hurricane.
“The storm did bring much destruction and damage,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said at a Thursday morning press conference.
“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” DeSantis said. “The storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario.”
Similarly, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell said it looks like the state has avoided a “worst-case scenario.”
“What we know for sure is we avoided that worst-case scenario that we were planning for,” Criswell said in an interview Thursday with CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “But the fact that they prepared for the worst really made sure that they were able to respond to the impacts that they have experienced, and the biggest ones right now are the tornadoes that have been reported across the state.”
DeSantis has said that recovery efforts are underway, bringing fuel and other resources to the state. He had said he thinks Florida is prepared to deal with the aftermath of Milton.
“It doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a lot of damage, it doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a lot we’re going to have to contend with,” he said. “But, just in terms of what we were prepped for, I think we probably have an abundance of resources.”
In a social media post on Thursday, DeSantis also said search and rescue operations began overnight as soon as the storm passed. The National Guard, State Guard, and Fish and Wildlife Commission personnel, as well as local law enforcement and first responders, are engaged in rescue missions throughout impacted areas, he wrote.
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