At least 14 dead, over 3 million families were without electricity, thousands were displaced, and hundreds of homes were destroyed by the more than 50 tornadoes that Milton unleashed.
“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a briefing Thursday. He cited the storm weakening before landfall and said the storm surge “as initially reported has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”
He further said that, In any case, despite having been downgraded from Category 5 to 1, the alert for its consequences remains, especially the risk of flooding that currently affects 12 million people. An alarm that will last for days, so much so that the return to Earth of the four astronauts of the Crew 8 mission has been postponed to October, 13.
Four of the 14 confirmed deaths were in St. Lucie, on the state’s east coast, while on the other side of the border, in St. Petersburg, strong winds from Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays, on Wednesday night. Videos posted on social media showing pieces of the fiberglass roof flying off and the structure being torn apart like paper by the hurricane are shocking.
“First responders have been working all through the night to help people who were in distress,” DeSantis said. “And what we can say is the storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario. The storm did weaken before landfall and the storm surge as initially reported has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.” according to 3WTKR.
The Republican governor reassured residents that the current situation “is not the worst we expected” and that “the scenario is much less dramatic than Helene” but “more flooding is expected.” On the other hand, there are over 80,000 people who have spent the night in reception centers, 3.1 million homes and businesses without electricity, and over 20 rescue teams in the affected areas with over 135,000 agents involved in the operations.
Joe Biden called DeSantis and assured him of all the federal aid that will be needed, appealing to the population to stay sheltered, off the roads, for as long as necessary.
“Downed power lines, debris, and flooding are creating dangerous conditions. Help is on the way, but until it’s there, listen to local authorities and stay safe,” the president insisted on X after a meeting with the government in the White House Situation Room.
There is no technology that allows humans to create and control hurricanes.
But on platforms like X and TikTok, posts alleging – without evidence – that the US government is secretly controlling the weather have been viewed millions of times.
Many were published by accounts known for spreading conspiracy theories, as well as misinformation about Covid-19 or vaccines.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden described the claims as “beyond ridiculous”, adding “it’s so stupid, it’s got to stop” “ according to BBC.
But there is another alarm that could be fatal to Florida especially in perspective, that of funds, after the Agency in charge of their management, FEMA, announced that it had spent almost half of its budget for natural disasters in just eight days. According to the director of the Agency, equivalent to our Civil Protection, 9 of the 20 billion dollars that Congress allocated on October 1 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, have been spent.
and also said, We will have to evaluate how quickly we burn the remaining money in the Disaster Fund, warned Deanne Criswell, while Biden is pressuring Congress to approve new funds. In the meantime, superstar Taylor Swift has personally thought about replenishing the emergency coffers by donating 5 million dollars to help with relief efforts for those affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
