Power Restoration Nearing End in Florida After Hurricane Milton

Power restoration is nearing the end in Florida less than a week after Hurricane Milton, according to recent figures.

Well over 3 million were without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton — a Category 3 storm that barreled down on Florida’s west coast Wednesday before making its way across the state, exiting off the east coast. The storm included at least 116 tornado warnings with 19 that touched down before the storm made official landfall.

WATCH — Palm Beach Twister: EF-3 Tornado Spotted Near Palm Beach Gardens:

Cheryl Violette /TMX

Prior to the storm, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) previewed roughly 50,000 linemen ready to restore power in the state thanks to out-of-state crews on their way.

“We have also worked with the utilities to have the largest staging of utility workers and linemen in advance of the storm any time in American history,” he announced prior to the storm’s landfall.

“We will have in Florida by the time the storm arises, over 50,000 linemen, and those linemen are being brought in from places as far away as California,” he added.

Around noon Monday, less than a week after Hurricane Milton made landfall, the number of customers without power in Florida reduced to about 375,000, according to poweroutage.us. And according to reports, power is expected to be fully restored by Tuesday.

According to the Hill:

Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light both said they expect to have power restored to nearly all customers in all impacted areas by Tuesday night, except for those in areas heavily damaged by flooding, tornadoes or storm surge.

Biden also announced $612 million in funding to strengthen the power grid, with $94 million earmarked for Florida. Both state and federal leaders are pushing to restore full power as quickly as possible.

WATCH — Driver Captures Footage of Hurricane Milton Flooding in Sarasota, Florida:
@MesoHunter_YT /TMX

 

DeSantis has continued to visit impacted areas throughout the state.

“Swift removal of debris after a hurricane is essential for recovery, morale, and quality of life. Following Hurricane Milton, the federal government approved our major disaster declaration, authorizing 100% reimbursement for debris removal for 90 days,” the governor announced, emphasizing that there is “no time for bureaucracy.”

“We’ve cut the red tape to streamline the process for Florida’s counties. You heard @KevinGuthrieFL: No excuses. Let’s get after it!” he added.