Florida residents repaired damage from Hurricane Milton and removed debris Friday after the storm tore through coastal communities, destroying homes, flooding streets and unleashing a hail of deadly tornadoes.
At least eight people were killed, but many expressed relief that Milton’s condition was not worse. The hurricane escaped a direct hit on densely populated Tampa, and the deadly storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.
The system arrived just two weeks after devastating Hurricane Helen, inundating barrier islands, tearing off the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium and toppling a construction crane.
As residents assessed damage to their properties, more than 2.5 million customers in Florida remained without power Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us. But the state’s vital tourism industry is starting to return to normal, with many theme parks preparing to reopen their doors.
A flood of vehicles headed south Thursday evening on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the center of the state, as relief workers and evacuated residents returned to assess the effects of the accident. Bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed in along with portable bathroom trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles.
As residents rushed to return to see if their homes had been destroyed, finding gas remained a challenge. Gas stations remain closed as far away as Ocala, more than 2 1/2 hours’ drive north of where the Category 3 storm made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on Wednesday evening.
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Natasha Dockery and her husband Terry felt lucky to be alive. Milton peeled the tin roof off their brick home in their neighborhood a few blocks north of the Manatee River, about a 45-minute drive south of Tampa. She was prompted to leave as the storm headed toward them Wednesday night after he resisted evacuating their three-bedroom home where he grew up and where the couple lives with their three children and two grandchildren. She believes the decision saved their lives.
They returned to find their roof in sheets across the street, the rafters of what had been their roof exposed to the sky. Inside, fiberglass insulation was hanging in shreds, their belongings soaked by the rain and pieces of broken drywall scattered.
“It wasn’t much, but it was ours. What we had is gone,” she said. “It’s gone.”
With shelters no longer available and the cost of a hotel room out of reach, they plan to cram into Terry Dockery’s mother’s house for now. After that, they’re not sure.
“I have no answers,” Natasha Dockery said. “What’s my next step? What will I do?”
Meanwhile, theme parks in Florida, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, planned to reopen on Friday after assessing the effects of the storm.
Orlando International Airport, the busiest in the state, said departures for domestic and international flights would resume Friday, after domestic flights resumed Thursday evening. The airport sustained minor damage, including some leaks and fallen trees.
Milton prevented Simon Forster, his wife and their two children from returning to Scotland as planned on Wednesday evening, so they enjoyed two more days of their two-week vacation on the bustling international route in Orlando’s tourist hotspot on Thursday. Hurricanes seem to be following them since 2022’s Hurricane Ian prevented them from returning to Scotland after another vacation in Orlando.
“Two more days here, there are worse places we could be,” he said.
Payne and Daly reported from Palmetto, Florida. Associated Press journalists Holly Ramer and Cathy McCormack in New Hampshire; Terry Spencer in Matlacha, Florida; Stephanie Mattat in Fort Pierce, Florida; Frieda Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis; Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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