Summary
Here’s a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
Joe Biden said that Hurricane Milton caused $50bn in damage and that his administration had been in constant contact with state and local officials in Florida and was “providing all the resources needed”.
The White House also announced that Biden would travel to Florida on Sunday, to visit the areas impacted by Milton.
Florida officials said that so far, more than 1,600 people had been rescued from flood waters, rubble and other hazards.
Pasco county issued a voluntary evacuation order for parts of the county due to heavy flooding.
As of 2pm ET, more than 2.2 million Florida residents still have no power.
Almost 29% of the gas stations in Florida were out of gas on Friday morning and in the Tampa and St Petersburg area, 73% of the gas stations were out.
A baby was born in a Pinellas county shelter, county officials said, adding that the shelter staff helped with the delivery. In addition, about 1,500 people in Pinellas county are still in the county shelters.
There are 9,000 Florida national guard on active duty, conducting ongoing response efforts, including search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, road clearance and high wheel vehicle support, state officials said.
The death toll of Milton continues to rise. Authorities in Tampa said that a woman was killed by a falling tree branch, and authorities in Orange county have confirmed the death of a man in his 60s, who appeared to have stepped on a downed power line while cleaning debris from the storm.
Governor Ron DeSantis warned Floridians not to go near downed power lines, as the state begins to see fatalities due to interactions with downed power lines, and water.
The city of Sarasota announced that access to the barrier islands had been restored, but officials advised that services may not be available, including water and power.
Sarasota Bradenton international airport remains closed, after it suffered damage to its roof over the main concourse, and also had some water damage. Other airports, such as Orlando international and Tampa international airport saw delays and cancellations.
Coastal flood advisories are still in effect in some areas north-east and east-central Florida. And although Hurricane Milton has exited Florida, the National Weather Service has warned that significant river flooding will continue for the coming days to weeks.
A new analysis found that the climate crisis significantly worsened the impact of Hurricane Milton by supercharging its rainfall and winds. The analysis said that the huge amount of rainfall unleashed by Hurricane Milton was made 20-30% more intense and about as twice as likely due to human-caused changes to today’s climate.
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Biden said that his government was “providing all the resources needed” to deal with Hurricane Milton.
Biden thanked the first responders, power line workers, state and local officials, and other workers and volunteers who are helping with recovery efforts from Milton.
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