- Over two million households, businesses still without power: officials.
- “There’s places where water is continuing to rise,” warns DeSantis.
- Biden says he would visit Florida on Sunday as areas remain flooded.
SIESTA KEY: The death toll from Hurricane Milton has risen to at least 16, officials in Florida said Friday, and millions were still without power as residents began the painful process of piecing their lives back together.
More than two million households and businesses were still without power, officials said, and some areas in the monster storm’s path through the state remained flooded.
“There’s places where water is continuing to rise,” Governor Ron DeSantis warned on Friday. But while the storm was “significant,” he said, “thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario.”
In a White House briefing, US President Joe Biden said experts estimated the cost of storm damage at $50 billion.
The federal response to the huge storm — and to Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of the US southeast just two weeks earlier — has taken on an increasingly political edge, and Biden said he would visit Florida on Sunday.
Amid questions as to whether the federal response is adequately funded, the president called on Congress to “step up” its efforts, particularly to shore up hard-hit small businesses. The agency that lends to them and families said Friday it is overwhelmed by this disaster and others and is running out of money.
Former president Donald Trump has falsely claimed that the Biden-Harris administration has diverted hurricane response funds to care for migrants, drawing push back even from some Republican officials.
Asked whether Trump was singularly to blame for a dangerous swirl of misinformation, Biden replied, “No… but he has the biggest mouth.”
