JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday morning said the state was working to restore millions of power outages and help people affected by the damage left behind by Hurricane Milton.
MORE|Hurricane Milton plows across Florida, pounding cities and whipping up tornadoes. At least 4 dead
Recommended Videos
Multiple deaths have been reported from severe weather, including four confirmed dead in St. Lucie County from tornadoes.
As of 6:30 a.m., 48 people had been rescued from floodwaters, DeSantis said.
RELATED| Hurricane Milton moves off Florida’s east coast; parts of state still seeing heavy winds, rain | Streets of downtown St. Augustine flood near Bridge of Lions in wake of Hurricane Milton | Widespread damage, power outages across Florida as high winds, tornadoes, flooding sweep state
The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it roared ashore in Siesta Key, south of the populated Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Center said. High winds, heavy rain and flooding hit areas including densely populated Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
DeSantis said parts of the state got up to 18 inches of rain and there was significant damage, but the storm surge wasn’t as bad as early predictions.
DeSantis told reporters Thursday that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet — less than in the worst place during Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago.
“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” he said. “The storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario.”
Water levels in many Florida rivers, including the St. Johns River, are forecast to continue rising, he said.
DeSantis said ocean ports will likely be able to resume operations “very quickly.”
There was significant damage in west-central Florida, including in the community of Plant City, an official said.
“One of the most profound things I’m seeing is the flooding. We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said in a video posted online Thursday morning.
In Volusia County, where Daytona Beach is located, high water rescue teams were out in full force in the South Daytona area, sheriff’s officials said.
Tampa police officers rescued 15 people from a one-story home that was damaged when a tree fell as Hurricane Milton was passing through.
In Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, the local sheriff’s office noted that many roads were either under water or blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines or other debris.
