While Milton left Florida, the Orlando Sentinel is relieved to see that if in the center of the state, the hurricane “caused damage […]everything could have been much worse”. The newspaper cites power outages – more than three million homes were without power in Florida as of late Thursday afternoon – and localized flooding as the main problems observed in the region. Other signs that the worst is over, Orlando airport reopened in the evening and Disneyworld will welcome the public this Friday. THE Sentinel observe, however, that“elsewhere, Milton had a fierce impact”.
On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in the west, the death toll stood at least twelve dead on Thursday evening. Dramatic, especially since the number of victims could increase in the coming days. But Helene, the other hurricane to hit the United States two weeks ago, killed more than 200 people. ABC News cites the testimony of a Fort Pierce resident who rushed to a nursing home where he could hear people screaming. He then found a deceased man on the ground. Earlier, he had seen a tornado take away his neighbor’s house “as if a bomb had exploded”.
Tampa, metropolis of 400,000 inhabitants, “was spared from the worst scenario”notes the Tampa Bay Times, which recalls that meteorologists feared a rise in water levels of several meters.
Half of FEMA budget already spent
Despite everything, the newspaper insists, more than 40 centimeters of rain fell in six hours in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. “Even neighborhoods outside of flood zones saw roads turn into rivers and cars completely submerged. Extreme winds uprooted large trees, tore off a section of the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and brought a massive crane down on a downtown building.describes the Times. As officials and residents feared that yet-to-be-cleaned debris from Hurricane Helene would blow away, “all these objects that strong winds could have transformed into dangerous projectiles have essentially not moved from the sidewalks”, rejoices at the regional title.
Tropicana Field is the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, the local baseball team. The covered enclosure with 25,000 seats “was to serve as a rescue center” et “Milton tore her apart”notice the Washington Post. “Scenes of devastation” which “refer to images of the enormous damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the Superdome in New Orleans in 2005”.
About 2,000 gas stations – a quarter of the total in Florida – were still dry Thursday. Between the power of winds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, the dozens of tornadoes and the heavy precipitation, the financial impact of Milton on Florida “could be between $30 billion and $50 billion”reports CNN, based on figures from the firm Fitch Ratings. And we are only talking about insured property here.
The disaster comes on top of Helene’s passage through the southern United States. Consequence, indicates Politico, FEMA, the federal agency in charge of these emergency situations, spent nine billion dollars in eight days, that is to say almost half of its annual budget. “Without new funding, the agency may have to suspend its reconstruction projects and focus on relief operations”specifies the site.
The increase in the budget requires a vote in Congress, which Mike Johnson, the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, refuses before the presidential election. Mr. Johnson believes FEMA has the funds to meet its immediate needs. The Biden administration says it sent 1,000 officials to assist in the search operations in addition to 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water, reports the New York Times.
Invited to a meeting with voters on the Spanish-language channel Univision, Kamala Harris reacted to criticism from Donald Trump and certain Republicans on the management of the two hurricanes by Joe Biden and herself. “In this crisis, I think it is important for leaders to show dignity. I would like to emphasize that this is not the time to try to score political points”commented the Democratic candidate for the White House.
