Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, last night around 8:30 p.m. and has left more than 3.4 million people without power as of 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have worked together in response to Milton, with Biden deploying thousands of federal personnel to supplement Florida National Guard Soldiers and Airmen response efforts.
Biden released a statement this morning, urging Florida residents to stay safe, and reassured help was on the way, posting on X:
To everyone impacted by Hurricane Milton: I urge you stay inside and off the roads. Downed power lines, debris, and road washouts are creating dangerous conditions. Help is on the way, but until it arrives, shelter in place until your local officials say it’s safe to go out.
Fox News reports four people were killed at a senior community in St. Lucie County by tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton. St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told Fox News:
They didn’t stand a chance…. Everything in (the tornado’s) path is just devastated. Our deputies are out there even while the storm Milton is approaching with National Guardsmen, with search and rescue teams going through the rubble. We’ve got about 300 members of law enforcement and volunteers out there sifting through these residences on the rescue mission to see if we can get anybody else out of there.
