Residents slog through flooded streets, clear debris after Milton tore through Florida

LITHIA, Fla. — Florida residents slogged through flooded streets, gathered up scattered debris and assessed damage to their homes Friday after Hurricane Milton smashed through coastal communities and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.

At least 10 people were dead, and rescuers were still saving people from swollen rivers, but many expressed relief that Milton wasn't worse. The hurricane spared densely populated Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people to not let down their guard, however, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water that could hide dangerous objects.

"We're now in the period where you have fatalities that are preventable," DeSantis said. "You have to make the proper decisions and know that there are hazards out there."

As of Friday night, the number of customers in Florida still without power dropped to 1.9 million, according to poweroutage.us. St. Petersburg's 260,000 residents were told to boil water before drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth, until at least Monday.

Also Friday, the owner of a major phosphate mine disclosed that pollution spilled into Tampa Bay during the hurricane.

The Mosaic Company said the leak was fixed Thursday but the spill likely exceeded a 17,500-gallon minimum reporting standard, though it did not provide a figure for what the total volume might have been.

Calls and emails to Mosaic seeking additional information received no response. A voicemail seeking comment was left with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The state has 25 such stacks containing more than 1 billion tons of phosphogypsum, a solid waste byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer mining industry that contains radium, which decays to form radon gas. Radium and radon are radioactive and can cause cancer. Phosphogypsum also may contain toxic heavy metals and other carcinogens.

Florida's vital tourism industry started to return to normal Friday, as Walt Disney World and other theme parks reopened. The state's busiest airport, in Orlando, resumed full operations Friday.

Before noon Friday, cars with residents returning to evacuated homes in southwest Florida crept along Interstate 75. Many evacuated to the state's Atlantic Coast near Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Finding gas was still a challenge. Fuel stations were still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a two and a half hour drive north of where the storm made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on Wednesday night.

Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, Milton flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays' baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.

Crews from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office assisted with rescues of people, including a 92-year-old woman, who were stranded in rising waters Friday along the Alafia River. The river runs from eastern Hillsborough County, east of Tampa, into Tampa Bay.

In Pinellas County, deputies used high-water vehicles to shuttle people to and from their homes in a flooded Palm Harbor neighborhood where waters continued to rise.

Ashley Cabrera left with her 18- and 11-year-old sons and their three dogs. It was the first time since Milton struck that they were able to leave the neighborhood, and they headed to a hotel in Orlando.

"I'm extremely thankful that we could get out now and go for the weekend somewhere we can get a hot meal and some gas," Cabrera said. "I thought we'd be able to get out as soon as the storm was over. These roads have never flooded like this in all the years that I've lived here."

Cindy Evers helped rescue a large pig stuck in high water at a strip mall in Lithia, east of Tampa. She already rescued a donkey and several goats after the storm. "I'm high and dry where I'm at, and I have a barn and 9 acres," Evers said, adding that she would work to find the animals' owners.

In the Gulf Coast city of Venice, Milton left behind several feet of sand in some beachfront condos. A swimming pool was full of sand, with only its handrails poking out.

Some warnings were heeded and lessons learned. When 8 feet of seawater flooded Punta Gorda during Hurricane Helene last month, 121 people had to be rescued, Mayor Lynne Matthews said. Milton brought at least 5 feet of flooding, but rescuers had to save only three people.

"So people listened to the evacuation order," Matthews said.

Heaps of fruit were scattered across the ground and trees toppled over after both Milton and Hurricane Helene swept through Polk County and other orange-growing regions, Matt Joyner of trade group Florida Citrus Mutual said Friday. Milton arrived at the start of the orange growing season, so it is still too early to evaluate the full scope of the damage.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has enough money to deal with the immediate needs of people impacted by Helene and Milton but will need additional funding at some point, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said Friday.

The disaster assistance fund helps pay for the swift response to hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other disasters. Congress recently replenished the fund with $20 billion — the same amount as last year.