No sooner had residents of the Bahia Vista Gulf condominium complex dug out and from Hurricane Helene than they were faced with the same daunting cleanup from new damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton.
The beachfront units had been gutted, treated and dried out after Hurricane Helene and mounds of sand that had blown in from the beach had been removed. Then, less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton barreled in and undid all the progress.
“They’ve got to start the whole process over, cleaning, sanitizing, bringing in drying equipment, getting them all dried and prepped for renovations,” lamented Bill O’Connell, a board member at the complex in Venice, about an hour’s drive south of Tampa. The second hurricane “brought all the sand back on our property.”
Some longtime Floridians have grown accustomed to the annual cycle of storms that can shatter and upend lives in a state known mostly for its balmy weather, sunshine and beaches.
“It’s the price you pay to live in paradise,” O’Connell said. “If you want to live here with this view, beautiful sunsets, be able to go out on your boat, enjoy what Florida has to offer, you have to be willing to accept that these storms are going to come.”
President Joe Biden planned to visit the Gulf Coast on Sunday.
Hurricane Milton killed at least 10 people after it made landfall as a Category 3 storm, tearing across central Florida, flooding barrier islands and spawning deadly tornadoes. Officials say the toll could have been worse without the widespread evacuations. Overall, more than a thousand people were rescued in the wake of the storm.
A similar scene could be found in Steinhatchee, west of Gainsville, where enormous piles of debris lined the streets.
Melissa Harden lives less than a block from a restaurant and neighborhood bar that were reduced to rubble. Her house is on 16-foot (4.9-meter) pilings, but four feet (1.2 meters) of water still flooded in. When Milton was forecast, she feared the third hurricane would hit Steinhatachee in 14 months.
“Personally, I thought, if it comes, we’re already evacuated, and our home is pretty messed up,” she said as friends and relatives helped with the cleanup, removing bathroom fixtures and pulling out damaged boards. “Of course, we didn’t want it! No more storms!”
Moody’s Analytics estimated on Saturday that the storm's economic costs will range from $50 billion to $85 billion, including upwards of $70 billion in property damage and an economic output loss of up to $15 billion.
Scores of people lined up at a station in St. Petersburg that had no gas Saturday, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them were Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter Magnolia, who arrived at 7 a.m. and were still waiting four hours later.
“They told me they have gas coming, but they don’t know when it’s going to be here,” he said. “I have no choice. I must sit here all day with her until I get gas.”
On Saturday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the state opened three fuel distribution sites and planned to open several more. Residents can get 10 gallons (37.8 liters) each free of charge, he said.
“Obviously, as power gets restored … and the Port of Tampa is open, you’ll see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” DeSantis said.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will “keep rising” for the next several days, resulting in flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward. Those areas were hit by the most rain, accompanying a wet summer that included several earlier hurricanes.
“You can’t do much but wait,” Close said of the rivers cresting. “At least there is no rain in the forecast, no substantial rain. So we have a break here from all our wet weather.”
