Florida's resilience tested as Milton death toll stands at 23

05:00

Florida recovering from 'one-two punch' after Milton and Helene

Florida State Sen. Jim Boyd tells FOX Weather Florida was just recovering from Helene when Hurricane Milton caused widespread wind damage. Boyd describes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately deploying resources to help communities recover. 

TAMPA — Nearly a week after Hurricane Milton made a devastating landfall as a Category 3 storm, Florida continues to grapple with its aftermath. 

The storm brought winds of more than 100 mph, near-record storm surge and a historic tornado outbreak that left nearly 4 million without power. As recovery efforts persist, a sense of normalcy remains elusive for much of the state.

The storm's death toll stands at 23 as of Tuesday. Several of the victims were killed in strong tornadoes that swept through the state ahead of Milton's landfall. At least two people were killed by falling trees, and another was fatally electrocuted after stepping on a downed power line.

President Joe Biden visited the Tampa Bay area Sunday to take an aerial tour of Milton's damage in Tampa and St. Petersburg. He was briefed by officials and later delivered remarks from St. Pete Beach.

"We've been in frequent contact, and it’s moments like this we come together and take care of each other, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans," Biden said. "Americans who need help, and Americans who would help you if you were in the same situation. We are one United States."

As residents in several communities survey and clean up the damage left behind on both coasts of the Florida Peninsula, widespread power outages were still adding to the woes. Tens of thousands of linemen have swarmed the state, restoring power to more than 3 million customers since Milton’s landfall Wednesday.

ST PETE BEACH, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Joe Biden greets people during a tour of the damage caused by Hurricane Milton on October 13, 2024 in St Pete Beach, Florida. Biden visited the area as it deals with back-to-back hurricanes that have caused extensive damage. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Roughly 1 million were still without power Sunday morning, including hundreds of thousands of outages in the Tampa Bay-Sarasota area, which took the brunt of the storm’s winds and hit with downed trees and power lines. Work to restore power has been nonstop, and as of Tuesday morning, about 200,000 outages remained statewide.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

The outages have affected fuel distribution at ports around Tampa Bay, with reports of as many as 75% of gas stations closed or without fuel as of Friday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday the state was getting fuel to gas stations and has also set up fuel depots in hard-hit areas that are providing 10 gallons of free fuel per person.

Historic tornado outbreak levels multiple neighborhoods

Hours before Hurricane Milton’s powerful eye wall even touched Florida’s western shores, the storm’s ferocious outer bands wreaked havoc across the central and southern peninsula, spawning a record-breaking tornado outbreak.

Three National Weather Service offices in Florida issued a combined 126 Tornado Warnings – a record for one day in Florida.

Tornado Warnings across Florida during Milton

(FOX Weather)

"These tornadoes were more energetic because Milton was starting the early stages of becoming a non-tropical system," FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan said.

He noted that ahead of Milton making landfall, the jet stream was injecting energy into the hurricane. Dry air was also present, which rose and twisted. These elements are often seen during a spring tornado outbreak.

RECORD FLOODING, SLOW-TO-RECEDE RIVERS STILL PLAGUE FLORIDA 

Dozens of tornadoes were reported though the exact count is still being determined. At least four communities reported significant tornado-related damage.

At least six people were killed by an EF-3 tornado that struck the Spanish Lakes neighborhood in St. Lucie County, according to the sheriff’s office, which also sustained heavy damage in the storm.

01:37

Watch: Tornado strikes Florida neighborhood ahead of Milton

Video shot on Wednesday shows a tornado blasting through a neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens, hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida.

"The most impacted area is about a half-square-mile community made up of older modular homes that the tornado went through and just completely devastated it," St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said Wednesday.  "They're mangled there. There's people trapped underneath them."

Another tornado blasted the West Palm Beach neighborhood, leaving a trail of damage.  The storm was given a preliminary EF-3 rating — significant as less than 1% of tornadoes produced by hurricanes are given that high of a rating, according to Morgan.

In nearby Wellington, FOX Weather Meteorologist Kendall Smith said the scenes of destruction were surreal.

"The devastation I have just come upon is the most significant devastation that I’ve seen so far since I’ve been on the ground covering the aftermath of the tornadoes produced by Hurricane Milton," Smith said Friday.  One home along a ranch lost their entire roof, and cars were tossed several yards across the street.

Among the devastation and debris, another creature caught Smith’s attention: a teddy bear. She noted that it did not belong to the ranch owners. In fact, they found it lodged in the side of a wall, with its red lights lit up and singing the tune "Happy Birthday."

Damage from tornado in Wellington, Florida during Hurricane Milton

(Kendall Smith / FOX Weather)

Yet another twister blasted through Fort Myers, leaving a trail of damage through one neighborhood. 

"The front door blew inside the house. So all of that breeze and that water was coming inside," said a storm victim.

Local NWS offices say a more accurate tornado count and specific tornado ratings are still coming due to fuel, travel and staffing challenges as a result of Milton.

100+ mph ferocious winds slam Tampa Bay Area

Hurricane Milton made landfall just south of the Tampa Area near Sarasota - sparing Tampa Bay from what was a potentially historic and devastating storm surge had the storm tracked just 25 miles farther north. But it was close enough to slam the area with triple-digit wind speeds.

Hurricane Milton top wind gusts

(FOX Weather)

Peak gusts hit 102 mph in St. Petersburg and 97 mph in Tampa.

The ferocious winds tore the roof off St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field, and toppled a massive crane from a building under construction in the downtown area. 

A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field which has been torn open due to Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10, 2024.

(BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP / Getty Images)

Skies lit afire in eerie blue hues — not lightning, but the constant explosions of electrical transformers that would leave well over a million in the Tampa Metro area in the dark.

In Sarasota, gusts also reached 102 mph, tearing the roof off the main concourse at the city’s airport, and leaving it closed into next week.

Sarasota Airport Hurricane Milton Damage

(Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport / FOX Weather)

Storm Surge brings feet of water to the shores south of Milton

While Milton’s jog south spared Tampa Bay from potentially historic inundation from storm surge, a wall of water 5-10 feet deep still pushed onshore along a wide swath of Florida’s west coast.

Aside from renewed water damage, residents of Bonita Springs and Venice came home to find their homes and neighborhoods buried under feet of sand. It’s an unwanted parting gift from the Gulf of Mexico's storm surge, impacting what had already been extensive cleanup efforts from Hurricane Helene’s wrath just two weeks earlier.

Campbell walks over pile of sand inside a Bonita Springs home.

(Brandy Campbell / FOX Weather)

"We just ended up cleaning this (house) out, finishing it up earlier this week, everything was completed," contractor Scott Roshak said as he stood in front of a home buried again in feet of sand. "The driveway was cleared down to the pavers. And now we have another 3 to 4 feet of sand to clear out of the entire horseshoe driveway. And now another 3 or 4 feet of sand that was in the garage now."

More than a foot of rain leads to hundreds of water rescues, extensive river flooding

While the tornadoes, storm surge and hurricane-force winds are long gone, flooding remains across several cities as 12-18 inches of rain struggles to drain from mainly flat river systems. Some rivers, like the St. Johns, set all-time flooding heights surpassing levels reached during Hurricane Ian.

01:02

Hillsborough County, FL deputies rescue 91-year-old woman in Milton floodwaters

Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office rescued a 91-year-old woman stranded in her home as floodwaters rose in Lithia, near the Alafia River.

The flooding has led to more than 1,000 water rescues across the region, with more than 700 occurring in Hillsborough County in the Tampa area, according to the sheriff's office.

The rescues ranged from a 91-year-old woman from a flooded home along the Alafia River to a massive rescue of more than 500 residents trapped in feet-deep waters of their flooded apartment complex in Clearwater. 

00:14

Watch: Tampa police rescue man trapped in vehicle during Milton flooding

The Tampa Police Department shared video on Saturday of officers rescuing a man who was trapped inside his truck amid widespread flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

And the Tampa Police Department on Saturday shared video of officers rescuing a man who was trapped inside his truck amid the widespread flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. According to police, officers were delivering supplies to North Tampa residents when the rescue took place. The man, who wasn't identified, was pulled from his truck and was brought to safety.

In addition, sinkholes have been popping up around Milton’s path, wiping out sidewalks, streets and even homes.

The NWS warns that flooding impacts could linger for days to weeks.