A few days ago, Florida was hit by great hurricanes like Helene and Milton, which disrupted life in Florida and gave rise to a crisis for economic hurdles and disturbed survival there. However, after the hurricane’s destruction, Floridians had to come back to their broken houses. When they came back, they planned to clean up all the mess. Now there is a water shortage, an electricity supply problem and a gas shortage. They have to wander to find gas and other stuff.
Well, fuel suppliers and power companies are doing their best to provide facilities to Floridians, but the roads are blocked due to rubble and broken homes. Everything is piled together like a bubble. They are facing this hard time. However, police are also doing their best by providing escorts to fuel the tanks and are trying to reach the destination where this is needed. They have promised to bring everything back to the top-up.
Joe Biden made his second survey to the state to have an eye on the ongoing destruction, he was speaking on Sunday morning in St. Petersburg when the president thanked first responders and local officials for their efforts and empathized with Floridians who lost their homes and everything,’’ they said,’’ heartbroken and exhausted, their expenses are piling up.
Storm-Related Deaths Increase: The death toll from Hurricane Milton has risen to 24, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and St. Lucie County Communications Director Erick Gill. As of Tuesday morning, seven fatalities have been reported in St. Lucie County.
Gas stations awaiting fuel: As of Monday afternoon, less than 18% of Florida’s gas stations were out of fuel, according to GasBuddy.com. In heavily impacted areas like Tampa and Sarasota, 50% were without gas, while around Ft. Myers and Naples, 21% were affected and 18% in Orlando. More than 37.3 million gallons of fuel have been delivered to Florida ports, according to Kevin Guthrie, director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management. Governor Ron DeSantis said 25 Florida Highway Patrol escorts are rushing fuel tankers from the ports to refill stations. Public fuel sites offering 10 gallons of free gas each have opened in Plant City, Bradenton, and St. Petersburg, with additional sites to be established in Charlotte, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties by Sunday.
Nearly 100,000 customers remained without power as of Tuesday evening, down from a peak of nearly 3 million, according to Power Outage Crews from across the nation are working to restore electricity, with most homes and businesses expected to regain power by midweek. Tampa Electric, responsible for 60% of the outages, stated they are working to restore service as safely and quickly as possible.
St. Petersburg has set up temporary stations where residents can charge phones and collect essentials like bottled water, batteries, and tarps. The city’s boil water notice was lifted on Monday.
Governor DeSantis announced during a Sunday press conference that debris removal is a top priority. President Biden has approved 100% reimbursement for debris removal costs for 90 days. Local governments are encouraged to urgently submit debris removal project details to FEMA. New debris management sites are receiving fast-tracked permits, and vehicle restrictions for removal efforts have been lifted. Debris removal will continue around the clock.
On Saturday, President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Florida, unlocking federal disaster aid for recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Milton starting October 5. The declaration includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs in over 30 counties. Additionally, the president announced over $600 million in energy resilience projects to strengthen Florida’s power grid.