Florida airports, amusement parks reopen as officials weigh damage from Hurricane Milton

Major airports and businesses across Florida said they were reopening on Friday, two days after Hurricane Milton made landfall as a deadly Category 3 storm, and millions remain without power.

Milton spawned a frightening number of tornadoes, produced storm surges that flooded coastal and central neighborhoods, and knocked out power to millions — triggering long waits at gas stations.

The storm, which arrived as Floridians were still dealing with the devastation from Hurricane Helene, caused at least 16 deaths statewide, the Associated Press reported.

While damage was widespread across the state, residents expressed relief that the storm’s impact wasn’t as significant as initially predicted.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario.”

“You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks — not easy to go through — but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” the governor said during a briefing in Sarasota on Thursday, adding he was “very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.”

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida — about 70 miles south of Tampa — late Wednesday. It came just two weeks after the southeastern U.S. was devastated by Hurricane Helene, a storm which killed more than 200 people.

Power outages trigger gas shortages

According to PowerOutage.us, more than 2.2 million homes and businesses were without power Friday afternoon, down from a peak outage of over 5 million.

“We have every expectation that the restoration will be rapid,” DeSantis told reporters on Friday afternoon, speaking in front of a house left askew by the storm in Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island.

People waited in long lines for fuel at gas stations, where power outages had cut the electricity that turns on their pumps.

“A lot of the major stations quite frankly should have generators,” the governor said, but that state officials were working with stations to restore power as quickly as possible.

The Tampa area was hit hardest, with 74% of gas stations there without fuel on Friday afternoon, reported the gas price tracker GasBuddy.

DeSantis said the state was stocked with plenty of fuel but had delivery challenges. “We will work to bring fuel in from other places if that needs to be done,” he said, including the gas sitting at reopened ports.

Big businesses reopen

However, major Florida theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, said their parks would be open on Friday after assessing the damage from the hurricane.

“We’re grateful Walt Disney World Resort weathered the storm,” the company said on its website, announcing it would reopen Friday with regular operating hours.

The statement added: “Our hearts are with our fellow Floridians who were impacted by this storm.”

Orlando International Airport, Florida’s busiest airport, and Tampa Airport said they would reopen on Friday, a further sign that the state was looking to return to business.

The White House announced Friday that President Biden will visit Florida on Sunday to survey the damage from Milton. In the meantime, FEMA has deployed resources to the region to aid with rescue and response operations. More than 15 million meals and 13 million liters of water have been sent to the state, the White House said in an afternoon press briefing, with an additional 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water ready to be deployed.

Death toll climbs in central Florida

Five people were killed in a St. Lucie County tornado, and two people died in St. Petersburg, Central Florida Public Media reported.

In Volusia County, which saw wind gusts as high as 87 mph and more than 15 inches of rain, four people were killed, at least two of whom died from falling trees, said Emergency Management Director Clint Mecham. Across the county, at least 170 people were rescued from floodwaters, he said, and 400 people remain in shelters.

An additional death, a man in his 60s who appeared to have stepped on a downed power line while clearing yard debris, is under investigation in Orange County.