Florida returns to normal after Hurricane Milton – CP24

ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) – Florida counties hard hit by Hurricane Milton are returning to a semblance of normality, with power restored to most areas Monday, gas stations reopening and students preparing to return to school .

Still, some hard-hit neighborhoods remained without power Monday with many homes and businesses badly damaged, their streets flooded and littered with debris. These could take some time to recover.

As of Monday afternoon, Florida power companies had restored power to nearly 90 percent of the 3.4 million homes and businesses that lost service after Milton made landfall Wednesday afternoon as a hurricane. category 3 south of Tampa, hitting the region at 120 mph (205 kph). winds and a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters), less than two weeks after the Gulf Coast suffered significant damage from Hurricane Helene. At least 11 people died.

The region’s three main power companies expect more than 95 percent of their customers who lost power to be restored by Tuesday night, after deploying thousands of workers to quickly repair lines, poles and other infrastructure.

“I know these guys came in and started working as soon as possible,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Monday at SeaPort Manatee, south of Tampa Bay. He said the recovery has been “very quick and we appreciate what they’ve been able to do.”

Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy and TECO Energy also credited efforts over the past decade to put more power lines underground, install stronger utility poles and adopt technology that allows electricity to be diverted around equipment damaged The areas that are flooded will be the last to have electricity.

“Power and water don’t mix, so we can’t turn it back on until the water has receded to ensure the safety of these customers,” Duke spokeswoman Ana Gibbs said.

Even after power is restored, homes that sustained damage to their electrical systems will not be able to receive power, the companies said.

Most gas stations have reopened and most lines have disappeared. DeSantis said about 12 million gallons (45 million liters) of fuel have been sent to the affected region in the four days since the storm, about double what would normally be sent. This will help replenish stations that ran out of gas prior to Milton’s arrival.

Most school districts in the worst-hit areas plan to reopen campuses Wednesday, though Manatee County plans to reopen its schools Tuesday.

DeSantis has warned that debris removal could take up to a year, even as Florida moves nearly 3,000 workers to the cleanup. The federal government has approved 100% federal reimbursement for these efforts for 90 days.

The sound of humming generators still filled the streets of Chuck Porter’s neighborhood in the town of Ellenton along the Manatee River, about 40 miles south of Tampa.

A broken power pole was still in the yard of a nearby home. A large, uprooted tree still attached power lines near the entrance to the neighborhood. Utility crew trucks drove down the highway without stopping as they could not yet pass through to do any repair work.

“No one has power here,” said Porter, a retiree who moved to the community nearly 70 years ago.

Still, he wasn’t complaining. Porter and his wife, Nancy, were staying with their daughter nearby. His power company’s website said his service should be restored by Wednesday night, but even a small delay won’t bother him.

“At the end of the week, we’ll be fine,” Porter said.

On Monday, the Porters were still sweeping their home, which was knee-deep in water and filled with mud when Helene hit more than two weeks ago. The couple watched from the leather sofa in their living room.

It was Milton’s winds that knocked out power lines in the neighborhood and tore some of the shingles off Porter’s roof. But wind damage to his home was minimal. The Key West-style bar he built himself in his backyard survived intact, its neon signs and displays of hanging baseball bats and guitar-shaped bottle openers undisturbed.

Even so, the water damage to the interior was significant. He was replacing his air conditioning unit and refrigerator, as well as other appliances.

“Salt water just destroys everything,” Porter said. “Any light socket that got wet, they’re going to have to rip it out.”

And many of his neighbors had it worse, he said: Houses one street closer to the river have been flooded with sewage. Others lost parts of their roofs or had broken windows.

“It’s going to be like this for six months or more” before all the storm damage is repaired, he said. “Insurance pays for it. It just takes time.”

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Anderson reported from St. Petersburg. AP writers Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.

Russ Bynum and Curt Anderson, The Associated Press