Nearly half-a-million Floridians were still without power Monday morning, days after Hurricane Milton barreled through the state, tearing a path of destruction that was most severe on the west-central coast.
The deadly storm ravaged communities, shredded the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and killed at least 17 people after making landfall Wednesday night at Category 3 strength.
President Joe Biden on Sunday visited Florida for the second time in a little more than a week to tour a state battered by back-to-back hurricanes as residents grappled with power outages, gas shortages and persistent flooding. A day prior, Biden had approved a disaster declaration that will free up federal funding for people affected by Milton, including grants for temporary housing, home repairs, and loans.
During remarks delivered at St. Pete Beach, Biden also announced an additional $612 million to support communities displaced by recent hurricanes. That includes $47 million for Gainesville Regional Utilities and another $47 million for Florida Power and Light to help restore electricity and “make the region’s power system stronger and more capable.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to get power back in your home, not only helping you recover, but to help you build back stronger,” Biden said.
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As of Monday morning, roughly 460,000 businesses and homes in Florida remained without power, according to the USA TODAY power outage tracker.
The west-central coast continues to be the hardest hit, with nearly 170,000 outages in Hillsborough County and another 95,000 in Pinellas County.
Further south, 39,000 outages were reported in Sarasota County and just under 52,000 homes and businesses in Manatee County were without power Monday morning.
Hurricane Milton: Joe Biden returns to a beleaguered Florida to survey damage in Tampa area
Florida Power and Light Company said it restored power to more than 90% of its customers and, as of Sunday, was on track to restore power to all schools by the end of the weekend.
The company has dispatched 20,000 workers from 41 states and Canada to work around the clock.
“Crews continue to work around the clock and will not stop until every customer has their lights back on,” FPL said in a statement.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Zac Anderson, Jeanine Santucci, Jorge L. Ortiz, Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida power outage map: Over 400,000 with no power after Milton
