The death toll in Florida from Hurricane Milton reached 21 on Saturday, several days after the powerful Category 3 storm battered the state with winds exceeding 100 miles per hour, a near-record storm surge, and a historic outbreak of tornadoes.
According to Fox Weather, the devastating hurricane left nearly four million people without electricity across the coastal state, where much of the population is still struggling to return to normal as recovery efforts continue.
Most of the fatalities were caused by intense tornadoes that tore through the state before Milton made landfall. Officials reported that at least two people died from falling trees, while another was electrocuted after stepping on a live power line in the storm's aftermath.
As communities begin to assess the damage and clean up following recent back-to-back major hurricanes on both U.S. coasts, widespread power outages continue to add to the challenges.
Despite the tireless work of tens of thousands of linemen, who have been striving to restore power to more than two million customers since Hurricane Milton hit on Wednesday, around 1.5 million people were still without electricity as of Saturday morning.
The Tampa Bay-Sarasota region, which bore the brunt of the storm's winds and suffered significant damage from downed trees and power lines, continues to experience extensive power outages affecting roughly one million residents.
The power outages have also disrupted fuel distribution at Tampa Bay ports, with reports indicating that up to 75% of gas stations were closed or out of fuel by Friday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state is working to supply fuel to gas stations and is setting up fuel depots in heavily impacted areas, where residents can access 10 gallons of free fuel per person.
