useapen
2024-10-12 09:08:05 UTC
LITHIA, Fla. (AP) Florida residents slogged through flooded streets,
gathered up scattered debris and assessed damage to their homes on
Friday after Hurricane Milton smashed through coastal communities and
spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.
At least 10 people were dead, and rescuers were still saving people
from swollen rivers, but many expressed relief that Milton wasnt
worse. The hurricane spared densely populated Tampa a direct hit, and
the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people to not let down their guard, however,
citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing
water that could hide dangerous objects.
Were now in the period where you have fatalities that are
preventable, DeSantis said. You have to make the proper decisions and
know that there are hazards out there.
As of Friday night, the number of customers in Florida still without
power had dropped to 1.9 million, according to poweroutage.us. St.
Petersburgs 260,000 residents were told to boil water before drinking,
cooking or brushing their teeth, until at least Monday.
Also Friday, the owner of a major phosphate mine disclosed that
pollution spilled into Tampa Bay during the hurricane.
The Mosaic Company said in a statement that heavy rains from the storm
overwhelmed a collection system at its Riverview site, pushing excess
water out of a manhole and into discharges that lead to the bay. The
company said the leak was fixed Thursday.
Mosaic said the spill likely exceeded a 17,500-gallon minimum reporting
standard, though it did not provide a figure for what the total volume
might have been.
Calls and emails to Mosaic seeking additional information about
Riverview and the companys other Florida mines received no response,
as did a voicemail left with the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection.
The state has 25 such stacks containing more than 1 billion tons of
phosphogypsum, a solid waste byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer
mining industry that contains radium, which decays to form radon gas.
Both radium and radon are radioactive and can cause cancer.
Phosphogypsum may also contain toxic heavy metals and other
carcinogens, such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and
nickel.
Floridas vital tourism industry has started to return to normal,
meanwhile, as Walt Disney World and other theme parks reopened. The
states busiest airport, in Orlando, resumed full operations Friday.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, Milton
flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays '
baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.
Crews from the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office on Friday were
assisting with rescues of people, including a 92-year-old woman, who
were stranded in rising waters along the Alafia River. The river is 25
miles (40 kilometers) long and runs from eastern Hillsborough County,
east of Tampa, into Tampa Bay.
In Pinellas County, deputies used high-water vehicles to shuttle people
back and forth to their homes in a flooded Palm Harbor neighborhood
where waters continued to rise.
Ashley Cabrera left with her 18- and 11-year-old sons and their three
dogs, Eeyore, Poe and Molly. It was the first time since Milton struck
that they had been able to leave the neighborhood, and they were now
headed to a hotel in Orlando.
Im extremely thankful that we could get out now and go for the
weekend somewhere we can get a hot meal and some gas, Cabrera said. I
thought wed be able to get out as soon as the storm was over. These
roads have never flooded like this in all the years that Ive lived
here.
Animals were being saved, too. Cindy Evers helped rescue a large pig
stuck in high water at a strip mall in Lithia, east of Tampa. She had
already rescued a donkey and several goats after the storm.
Im high and dry where Im at, and I have a barn and 9 acres, Evers
said, adding that she will soon start to work to find the animals
owners.
In the Gulf Coast city of Venice, Milton left behind several feet of
sand in some beachfront condos, with one unit nearly filled. A swimming
pool was packed full of sand, with only its handrails poking out.
Some warnings were heeded and lessons learned. When 8 feet (2.4 meters)
of seawater flooded Punta Gorda during Hurricane Helene last month, 121
people had to be rescued, Mayor Lynne Matthews said. Milton brought at
least 5 feet (1.5 meters) of flooding, but rescuers only had to save
three people.
So people listened to the evacuation order, Matthews said.
Heaps of fruit were scattered across the ground and trees toppled over
after both Milton and Hurricane Helene swept through Polk County and
other orange-growing regions, Matt Joyner of trade group Florida Citrus
Mutual said Friday.
Milton arrived at the start of the orange growing season, so it is
still too early to evaluate the full scope of the damage.
Florida has already seen orange production diminish over the years,
with the industry still recovering from hurricanes of years past while
also waging an ongoing battle against a deadly greening disease. Milton
could be the knockout punch for some growers, Joyce said.
In the western coastal city of Clearwater, Kelvin Glenn said it took
less than an hour early Thursday for water to rise to his waist inside
his apartment. He and seven children, ranging in age from 3 to 16, were
trapped in the brown, foul floodwaters for about three hours before an
upstairs neighbor opened their home to them.
Later that day, first responders arrived in boats to ferry them away
from the building.
Sitting in that cold, nasty water was kind of bad, Glenn said.
Short-term survival is now turning into long-term worries. A hotel is
$160 a night. Everything inside Glenns apartment is gone. And it can
take time to get assistance.
I aint going to say were homeless, Glenn said. But weve got to
start all over again.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has enough money to deal with
the immediate needs of people impacted by Helene and Milton but will
need additional funding at some point, FEMA administrator Deanne
Criswell said Friday.
The disaster assistance fund helps pay for the swift response to
hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other disasters. Congress recently
replenished the fund with $20 billion the same amount as last year.
https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-florida-
7f60bbe9c6295f2ebef077eca2c1b4e1
gathered up scattered debris and assessed damage to their homes on
Friday after Hurricane Milton smashed through coastal communities and
spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.
At least 10 people were dead, and rescuers were still saving people
from swollen rivers, but many expressed relief that Milton wasnt
worse. The hurricane spared densely populated Tampa a direct hit, and
the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people to not let down their guard, however,
citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing
water that could hide dangerous objects.
Were now in the period where you have fatalities that are
preventable, DeSantis said. You have to make the proper decisions and
know that there are hazards out there.
As of Friday night, the number of customers in Florida still without
power had dropped to 1.9 million, according to poweroutage.us. St.
Petersburgs 260,000 residents were told to boil water before drinking,
cooking or brushing their teeth, until at least Monday.
Also Friday, the owner of a major phosphate mine disclosed that
pollution spilled into Tampa Bay during the hurricane.
The Mosaic Company said in a statement that heavy rains from the storm
overwhelmed a collection system at its Riverview site, pushing excess
water out of a manhole and into discharges that lead to the bay. The
company said the leak was fixed Thursday.
Mosaic said the spill likely exceeded a 17,500-gallon minimum reporting
standard, though it did not provide a figure for what the total volume
might have been.
Calls and emails to Mosaic seeking additional information about
Riverview and the companys other Florida mines received no response,
as did a voicemail left with the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection.
The state has 25 such stacks containing more than 1 billion tons of
phosphogypsum, a solid waste byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer
mining industry that contains radium, which decays to form radon gas.
Both radium and radon are radioactive and can cause cancer.
Phosphogypsum may also contain toxic heavy metals and other
carcinogens, such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and
nickel.
Floridas vital tourism industry has started to return to normal,
meanwhile, as Walt Disney World and other theme parks reopened. The
states busiest airport, in Orlando, resumed full operations Friday.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, Milton
flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays '
baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.
Crews from the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office on Friday were
assisting with rescues of people, including a 92-year-old woman, who
were stranded in rising waters along the Alafia River. The river is 25
miles (40 kilometers) long and runs from eastern Hillsborough County,
east of Tampa, into Tampa Bay.
In Pinellas County, deputies used high-water vehicles to shuttle people
back and forth to their homes in a flooded Palm Harbor neighborhood
where waters continued to rise.
Ashley Cabrera left with her 18- and 11-year-old sons and their three
dogs, Eeyore, Poe and Molly. It was the first time since Milton struck
that they had been able to leave the neighborhood, and they were now
headed to a hotel in Orlando.
Im extremely thankful that we could get out now and go for the
weekend somewhere we can get a hot meal and some gas, Cabrera said. I
thought wed be able to get out as soon as the storm was over. These
roads have never flooded like this in all the years that Ive lived
here.
Animals were being saved, too. Cindy Evers helped rescue a large pig
stuck in high water at a strip mall in Lithia, east of Tampa. She had
already rescued a donkey and several goats after the storm.
Im high and dry where Im at, and I have a barn and 9 acres, Evers
said, adding that she will soon start to work to find the animals
owners.
In the Gulf Coast city of Venice, Milton left behind several feet of
sand in some beachfront condos, with one unit nearly filled. A swimming
pool was packed full of sand, with only its handrails poking out.
Some warnings were heeded and lessons learned. When 8 feet (2.4 meters)
of seawater flooded Punta Gorda during Hurricane Helene last month, 121
people had to be rescued, Mayor Lynne Matthews said. Milton brought at
least 5 feet (1.5 meters) of flooding, but rescuers only had to save
three people.
So people listened to the evacuation order, Matthews said.
Heaps of fruit were scattered across the ground and trees toppled over
after both Milton and Hurricane Helene swept through Polk County and
other orange-growing regions, Matt Joyner of trade group Florida Citrus
Mutual said Friday.
Milton arrived at the start of the orange growing season, so it is
still too early to evaluate the full scope of the damage.
Florida has already seen orange production diminish over the years,
with the industry still recovering from hurricanes of years past while
also waging an ongoing battle against a deadly greening disease. Milton
could be the knockout punch for some growers, Joyce said.
In the western coastal city of Clearwater, Kelvin Glenn said it took
less than an hour early Thursday for water to rise to his waist inside
his apartment. He and seven children, ranging in age from 3 to 16, were
trapped in the brown, foul floodwaters for about three hours before an
upstairs neighbor opened their home to them.
Later that day, first responders arrived in boats to ferry them away
from the building.
Sitting in that cold, nasty water was kind of bad, Glenn said.
Short-term survival is now turning into long-term worries. A hotel is
$160 a night. Everything inside Glenns apartment is gone. And it can
take time to get assistance.
I aint going to say were homeless, Glenn said. But weve got to
start all over again.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has enough money to deal with
the immediate needs of people impacted by Helene and Milton but will
need additional funding at some point, FEMA administrator Deanne
Criswell said Friday.
The disaster assistance fund helps pay for the swift response to
hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other disasters. Congress recently
replenished the fund with $20 billion the same amount as last year.
https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-florida-
7f60bbe9c6295f2ebef077eca2c1b4e1