Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida In a press briefing, he said the state had avoided “the worst case scenario,” but warned that the damage was still significant.
The Tampa Bay area appeared to be spared the storm that prompted the most dire warnings, although barrier islands along the coast south of the city experienced widespread flooding.
US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said in a press briefing At the White House There are reports of 10 deaths so far, adding that they appear to be caused by hurricanes.
Mayorkas explained that at least 27 hurricanes hit Florida.
Eric Gill, a spokesman for St. Lucie County on Florida’s east coast, said a series of tornadoes killed five people, including at least two in Spanish Lakes, a group of retirement neighborhoods.
It was stated on the “Power Outage.US” website that: electricity More than 3.2 million Florida homes and businesses were out of action on Thursday.
At least some of them had been waiting for several days for the return of electricity after it was struck Hurricane Helen The area about two weeks ago.
For his part, the President said Joe Bidenwho postponed an overseas trip to follow the hurricane MiltonOn Thursday, he believes the US Congress should return to session to deal with disaster relief funding needs in the wake of the storm.
Biden explained that he did not speak to House Speaker Mike Johnson about the return of Congress, noting that members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are not scheduled to meet again in Washington before the presidential elections scheduled for next November 5.
