CBS News flew over Siesta Key, just west of Sarasota, with the Florida National Guard Friday, where Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane. From above the devastation seemed limitless, a vast landscape of twisted metal and debris, marking the heartbreaking toll of back-to-back hurricanes.
Two days before Helene struck, Isabella McGovern’s family purchased their dream home in Siesta Key after saving up for years. Now the home is gutted, with mud inside and their new furniture sitting outside.
“This was all from the first hurricane, because anything the water touches, you have to strip because of the mold,” McGovern told CBS News.
And down the street, guard troops were handing out lifelines in the form of cleaning supplies, tarps and water, while the McGoverns wonder whether to stay.
“We can’t afford to, you know, build a house all over again,” McGovern said. “So, we were thinking, if anything, you know, refurnish it, make it look Anice.And in the next two to three years, put it back in the market.
The White House says President Biden will travel to Florida on Sunday to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Milton.
In remarks to the press about recovery efforts Friday afternoon, Mr. Biden said, “I’m pleased that more Americans are coming together in a purely voluntary way. I mean, this is who the hell we are. When America’s in trouble we go and jump in and try to help. You help your neighbor.”
At a Univision town hall Thursday night in Las Vegas, Vice President Kamala Harris fielded questions about federal hurricane relief efforts.
Ramiro Gonzalez, a voter from Tampa, Florida, noted that more than one hurricane had struck his home.
“Rumors are that your administration didn’t do enough to respond to the last hurricane. What would you specifically do, or your administration do, to help us in the Tampa Bay area or the Central Florida area with this hurricane?” he asked Harris.
Harris responded by decrying disinformation spread about the federal response to recent hurricanes.
“I have to stress that this is not a time for people to play politics,” she said.
She then listed her continual briefings and contact with state and local officials on the ground, and warned against companies that are raising prices in impacted areas.
A suspected tornado touched down in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall later Wednesday night, one of several which were believed to have touched down statewide, CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes reports.
A doorbell camera captured footage of the damage as it whipped through palm trees in the neighborhood and ripped off the roof of a home. The extent of the damage was still unknown. It was unclear if there were any injuries.
More than 100 tornado warnings blared across the state earlier in the day. There were at least 20 confirmed tornadoes in Florida Wednesday, according to “CBS Mornings” weather producer Elie Morrison.
In the southeastern Florida county of St. Lucie, there were “multiple reports of tornadoes touching down,” county spokesperson Erick Gill told CBS News by email Wednesday evening.
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson feared the worst for those still in the city Wednesday night.
“I’m praying for their safety, and I hope they survive,” Anderson told CBS News.
All the debris from both Hurricane Helene and the suspected tornadoes could put even inland communities at risk of even more damage as powerful winds from Milton are expected to continue well into Thursday.
Several injuries, both serious and minor, have been reported in Martin County, Florida, as a result of Hurricane Milton. No fatalities had been reported as of Wednesday night, Martin County Fire Rescue said.
Martin County Fire Rescue also said it estimated dozens of homes had been damaged, “some severely,” by the storm.
Martin County is located on Florida’s east coast, north of Palm Beach.
Federal Emergency Management Administrator Deanne Criswell indicated in a briefing Wednesday that the agency’s Disaster Relief Fund could face a funding crisis.
Criswell said the agency currently has about $9 billion in its coffers after it spent about $11 billion responding to Hurricane Helene.
“I’m going to have to evaluate how quickly we’re burning the remaining dollars within the Disaster Relief Fund, to see if I’m going to have to go back in and ask for additional funding sooner than what Congress is planning on right now.”
CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane reports that, according to congressional sources, FEMA could receive enough funding to respond to both Helene and Milton in the near term, but the agency may have to pull back on other long-term response efforts from previous emergencies in other parts of the country.
MacFarlane also reports that the Small Business Administration, which provides disaster loans to homeowners and small businesses, could also run out of money before Congress reconvenes after the November election.
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