by Trevor Hunnicutt
ST PETE BEACH, Florida -After surveying battered communities and debris-filled streets in Florida, President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday to continue supporting the state’s recovery from Hurricane Milton, the second major storm to pummel the region in recent weeks.
Rising floodwaters, fuel shortages and power outages are hindering cleanup efforts from the storm that made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane and residents struggling to rebuild their lives amid the compounded devastation left by both Milton and the earlier Hurricane Helene.
Residents of hard-hit St. Pete Beach are “heartbroken and exhausted and their expenses are piling up,” Biden said after touring the barrier island’s neighborhoods.
Street corners were filled with debris alongside felled palm trees and homes with busted pastel-painted garage doors as the smell of moldy building materials filled the air. Heaps of mattresses, siding, couches, microwave ovens, pillows and busted-up kitchen cabinets lined the roads, some still covered in large patches of sand, as Biden walked through with emergency responders. One photo album still lay scattered in the street.
“Help,” one resident asked Biden in lettering on one pile of destroyed household goods.
“I know you’re concerned about the debris removal, and it’s obvious why,” the president said, speaking in front of a collapsed beach house lifted from its foundation. “There’s much more to do. We’re doing everything we can.”
Meanwhile, flooding is expected to continue around the Tampa Bay and the Sanford area northeast of Orlando as river waters continue to rise, according to the National Weather Service’s website.
About 75% of Florida’s power is back online, with full restoration expected by Tuesday evening, said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who traveled with Biden. Five days after the storm hit, about 927,000 customers still do not have power, according to the PowerOutage.us website.
More gasoline distribution sites are also scheduled to open on Sunday, according to the state’s emergency operations center.
Still, recovery is expected to take a long time with the two storms hitting within two weeks of each other.
Biden’s visit offered a bird’s eye view of the destruction as his helicopter thundered along Florida’s western coast from Tampa to St. Petersburg over a landscape of golf courses, waterfront skyscrapers and battered neighborhoods, including the shredded roof of Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium, Tropicana Field.
“It’s still a mess,” Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert told ABC News’ “This Week” program, adding “it’s been heartening to see all of the outpouring of support and help that people have been offering.”
At least 17 deaths have been reported from Milton, far less than the more than 200 people killed by Helene, in part from what officials have said were more people heeding calls to evacuate.
‘A PATH FORWARD’
Climate change has been linked to stronger and faster hurricanes, with the two recent back-to-back storms pummeling Florida raising questions of infrastructure resiliency even as many residents vow to stay put.
While Milton was not as destructive as officials had initially forecast, analysts have estimated insured losses for between $30 billion and $60 billion.
Biden’s administration has approved federal aid to help residents and local governments cover expenses but has said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would need additional funding from the U.S. Congress even though it has enough now to meet immediate storm needs. On Sunday, he also announced $612 million for six new utility projects in affected communities.
Biden, a Democrat, reiterated his call for lawmakers — on recess until after the Nov. 5 election — to return to Washington to approve more FEMA money, telling reporters as he left the state Congress needs to move quickly: “It’s important.”
St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila, speaking alongside Biden, echoed the call for help: “We’re concerned about the future of our town… We need continued federal resources, and we need a path forward to ensure that our community and all other communities, all other cities who were devastated just like this town, can emerge stronger than ever before.”
But Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson resisted White House and state lawmakers appeals to approve more disaster assistance, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” program: “The states have to go and calculate and assess the need and then they submit that to Congress, and that takes some time.”
Relief efforts have also been hampered by a trail of misinformation, including conspiracy theories about officials controlling the weather. Politics has also infiltrated recovery with just three weeks to go until the presidential election.
A number of local officials greeted or accompanied Biden on his tour, including Florida Republican U.S. Representative Anna Luna. The state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, declined the White House invitation and Biden told reporters that he did not speak with DeSantis. DeSantis’ office was not immediately available for comment.
