Residents of the affected counties in Florida have begun to pick up the pieces of their lives after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton tore through the state
Since Hurricane Milton laid waste to several Florida towns, many are slowly working to rebuild their lives from the rubble that was left behind from the Category 3 storm. According to initial reports, the death toll— which is significantly lower than last week’s Hurricane Helene — currently sits at 14 confirmed fatalities.
The lower number has been attributed to the fact that most residents in the affected areas heeded official warnings and fled the minute they were told to do so. Since the hurricane passed, rescue crews and residents have wasted no time in trying to get things back to normal.
According to reports, many of the fatalities have arisen from tornadoes that were generated by the hurricane. The retirement community of St. Lucie County was responsible for six of the confirmed deaths while four storm-related deaths occurred in Volusia County; two in St. Petersburg; and one death in Citrus County.
Officials reported that many residents found themselves ill-equipped to deal with the the phenomenon as they were also forced to contend with heavy rain, strong winds and storm surges. The National Weather Service said that on Wednesday, the day that Milton officially struck, they issued 126 for the state.
“Certainly that will be a notable part of this storm, was how many tornadoes occurred within such a short period,” said Matthew Elliott, warning coordination meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center “Another thing I think I can say — our buildings that were built in the last 20 or 30 years, they did very well.”
Several breathtaking images of the storm, including one from the International Space Station have made their way online and gone viral. Many of those who stayed in their own houses have also gone viral for their struggles.
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1 of 10All eyes have turned to cleaning debris left over from Hurricane Milton and Helene after both storms left Florida battered and bruised (
Image:Getty Images)
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2 of 10In an aerial view, beach sand is seen almost to the rooftop of a building in Venice, Florida. (
Image:Getty Images)
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3 of 10Lillian Cobb and Ethan Hisey dig a bench out from the sand that was covered during Hurricane Milton (
Image:Getty Images)
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4 of 10Debris litters a beach at Treasure Island as clean-up from both Hurricane Helene and Milton continues along the Gulf Coast which was severely impacted by both storms
