President Joe Biden was in Florida on Sunday to see up close the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Milton.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening.
Biden speaks about federal aid after Hurricane Milton
President Biden and other officials speak about federal assistance after Hurricane Milton made landfall, in the state of Florida.
Biden arrived in Tampa and flew by helicopter to St. Pete Beach. Along the way he saw what was left of the roof of Tropicana Field, which was shorn off by Milton’s powerful winds.
Later, as the president’s motorcade drove along the highway, piles of debris, tattered billboards, toppled fences, fallen trees and closed gas stations were seen. It passed through a neighborhood where almost every home had water damage and heaps of belongings were on the curb.
US President Joe Biden arrives at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, on October 13, 2024, where he will survey areas damaged by Hurricane Milton. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/AFP via Getty Images)
RELATED: Tropicana Field roof ripped off by Hurricane Milton
Here is the latest in the storm recovery efforts:
Hurricane Milton death toll
The death toll from the storm was at least 21 people as of Sunday morning, according to FOX Weather, several of the victims from strong tornadoes that swept through the state ahead of Milton’s landfall.
At least two were killed by falling trees; another by stepping on an active downed power line in the storm’s aftermath, officials said.
Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for widespread evacuations. The still-fresh devastation wrought by Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee.
Widespread power outages linger
FOX WEATHER: Live report after Hurricane Milton strikes
Fox Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell joins LiveNOW from FOX to provide an update on Hurricane Milton recovery. President Biden will visit Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Widespread power outages lingered across Florida Sunday.
Tens of thousands of linemen have swarmed the state, restoring power to more than 2 million customers since Milton’s Wednesday landfall.
But that left roughly 1 million 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.
Fuel shortage
The power 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 is working to get fuel to stations and is also setting up fuel depots in hard-hit areas that will provide 10 gallons of free fuel per person.
READ MORE: Florida offering residents 10 free gallons of gas, Governor DeSantis announces state-run fuel sites