Florida is struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, at least 16 dead

More than one and a half million people have been evacuated, more than two million people are without electricity, many areas are flooded, sea levels are rising, and extreme amounts of rain have been recorded.

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Tropikana Field baseball stadium, Photo: Reuters
Tropikana Field baseball stadium, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Hurricane Milton, the strongest in the last hundred years, hit Florida. Although it weakened from category 5 to 1 before reaching the coast of Florida, the hurricane left behind devastation.

At least 16 hurricane-related deaths have been confirmed.

More than one and a half million people have been evacuated, more than two million people are without electricity, numerous areas are flooded, sea levels are rising, and extreme amounts of rain have been recorded. The hardest hit areas are Naples, Fort Myers and Tampa.

Although Milton did not cause the catastrophic surge of water feared in Florida, one of the many states hit by Hurricane Helena two weeks ago, the cleanup operation for some could take weeks or months.

"It opens your eyes to what Mother Nature can do," Chase Pierce of West St. Louis told Reuters. Petersburg.

The fifth strongest Atlantic hurricane in history, Milton, could cost insurance companies up to 100 billion dollars alone, analysts say.

The White House has pledged government support as the full extent of the damage is still being determined.

Trump criticized the government

But Republican Donald Trump, who is trailing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, attacked his opponents over their handling of the storm recovery.

"The federal government ... has not done what you should have done, especially with regard to North Carolina," he said Thursday. North Carolina was also hit hard by Hurricane Helena, and Trump is facing a close fight there against his opponent.

Kamala Harris, who said Trump is spreading lies about the government's response, fired back at a town hall event on Univision Thursday. "Unfortunately, we've seen over the last two weeks, since Hurricane Helena and now right after Milton, where people are playing political games," she said, without naming Trump.

President Joe Biden's administration said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would need additional funding from Congress, where Republicans control the House of Representatives and Democrats control the Senate, and urged lawmakers to act.

Florida Gov. Ron Desantis warned Thursday that while the state had avoided the "worst-case scenario," the damage was still significant.

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