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Hurricane Milton costs Florida billions in damage and wreaks havoc on countless lives

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Recovery efforts are continuing in central Florida, as the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton becomes clear.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden surveyed the devastation, saying he was thankful the damage from the storm was not as severe as officials had anticipated. He did, however, make clear that it was very much a “cataclysmic” event for people caught in Milton’s path, which has been blamed for at least 11 deaths and is strongly indicative of a worsening climate crisis.

Days after the storm hit, 500,000 homes and business in Florida remain without electricity, according to Poweroutage.us, and fuel shortages are ongoing.

While recovery efforts are gaining steam, experts warn that a full rebound will take far longer.

Karen and Burton Webb, whose property was washed through by Hurricane Milton surge, find pieces of their furniture a block from their house, in Englewood, Florida on Sunday Rebecca Blackwell/The AP

 

What is involved in the recovery efforts in storm-hit Florida?

Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis has cautioned that debris removal could take up to a year, despite the fact that Florida authorities have dispatched nearly 3,000 workers to the cleanup.

Despite rarely agreeing with Joe Biden, DeSantis also confirmed that the President has approved 100 per cent federal reimbursement for those efforts for at least 90 days.

“The (removal of) debris has to be 24/7 over this 90-day period,” DeSantis said while standing next to a pile of furniture, lumber and other debris in Treasure Island, an island city near St. Petersburg that has been battered by both Hurricane Milton and Helene which hit just a few weeks before.

Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm, tearing across the centre of the state, flooding barrier islands and spawning deadly tornadoes. Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations.

Overall, more than a thousand people had been rescued in the wake of the storm as of Saturday, DeSantis said.

Ron DeSantis, centre, takes questions during a news conference in front of a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s parking facility in Florida after Milton hit Wilfredo Lee/The AP

 

National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will continue to rise for several days and result in flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northwards. Those areas got the most rain, which came on top of a wet summer that included several hurricanes.

Meanwhile, countless residents unable to move back into their damaged homes are continuing to make other arrangements – although it hasn’t been easy for many.

Many Floridians journeying home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm, spent much of the weekend searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state.

In St. Petersburg alone, scores of people lined up at a station that had no gas, hoping it would arrive soon.

DeSantis told reporters on Saturday that the state had opened three fuel distribution sites and planned to open several more. The governor also announced that residents are entitled to 10 gallons (37.85 litres) each, free of charge.

“Obviously as power gets restored… you’re going to see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” he said.

Officials were also replenishing gas stations with the state’s fuel stockpiles and providing generators to stations that remained without power.

Law enforcement members help a motorist that ran out of fuel while waiting for in line for fuel at a depot on Saturday in Plant City, Florida Chris O’Meara/The AP

 

How is the United States preparing for the rest of hurricane season?

On Sunday, President Biden surveyed hurricane damage on a helicopter flight between Tampa and St. Pete Beach on the Gulf Coast.

From the air, he saw the torn-up roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. On the ground, the president saw waterlogged household furnishings piled up outside flooded homes; other houses had collapsed.

Biden praised the first responders, some of whom had come from Canada.

“It’s in moments like this we come together to take care of each other, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans,” he said.

Biden also announced $612 million (€560m) for six Department of Energy projects in hurricane-affected areas to bolster the region’s electric grid. That figure includes $47 million (€43m) for Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47 million (€43m) for Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.

With a little more than three weeks before the presidential election, the hurricanes have added another dimension to the closely contested presidential race.

President Joe Biden speaks in front of a damaged building in St. Pete Beach, Florida during a tour of areas affected by Hurricane Milton on Sunday Manuel Balce Ceneta/The AP

Republican nominee Donald Trump has said the Biden administration’s storm response was lacking, particularly in western North Carolina after Helene. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have criticised Trump for promoting falsehoods about the federal response.

Biden said Trump was “not singularly” to blame for the spread of misinformation – but that he has the “biggest mouth.”

“They blame me for everything. It’s OK,” Trump told Fox News.

Biden has pressed for Congress to act quickly to make sure the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have the money they need to get through hurricane season, which tends to come to an end on 30 November in the Atlantic Ocean.

On Friday, he said that Milton alone had caused an estimated $50 billion (€45b) in damages.

On Saturday, Moody’s Analytics estimated that economic costs from the storm will be closer to $85 billion (€77b), including upwards of $70 billion (€64b) in property damage and an economic output loss of up to $15 billion (€13b).

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose department oversees FEMA, said the hurricane season is far from over and there are other natural disasters for which the agency must prepare.

“We don’t know what’s coming tomorrow, whether it’s another hurricane, a tornado, a fire, an earthquake. We have to be ready” Mayorkas told CBS.

As the recovery continues, Governor DeSantis has warned people to be cautious, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water.

Residents walk past a damaged home and the displaced roof of their 55+ mobile home community’s tiki hut after the passage of Hurricane Milton in Englewood, Florida on Sunday Rebecca Blackwell/The AP

 

How did climate change impact Milton?

Human-caused climate change gave a significant boost to Milton, intensifying the storm’s rainfall by 20 per cent to 30 per cent and strengthening its winds by about 10 per cent, scientists have announced.

World Weather Attribution researchers said that, without climate change, a hurricane like Milton would make landfall as a weaker Category 2, which is not considered a “major” storm, instead of a Category 3, which it was eventually categorised as.

Climate change also boosted Helene’s wind and rain. The two storms made an otherwise unusually quiet Atlantic hurricane season roar to life.

Scientists also warn that the season is far from over. So far, five hurricanes have made landfall in the US – and the record is six.

Jeff Masters, meteorologist for Yale Climate Connections, said the record may be matched since tropical cyclone activity is expected to be above-average for the rest of October and November.

 

Politics

Peter Obi Is weak and Spineless , That’s why he couldn’t field any candidate for the November Anambra Election – Noble Eyisi (Former Unizik President

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Peter Obi Is weak and Spineless , That’s why he couldn’t field any candidate for the November Anambra Election – Noble Eyisi (Former Unizik President)..

He Posted this on his X account 👇:

This shouldn’t surprise anyone that knows Peter. ‘A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything’.

The upcoming November election should be a walk in the park for Obi if he decides to put a candidate forward but because he’s weak, he won’t. He wants to reap all the rewards but shun the hardwork.

Come 2027, the spineless man will talk about a ‘structure of criminality’; whereas he refused to take up the opportunity to build his own structure and define it the way he wants it to be.

 

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I’m coming for you – Congressman vows to begin Trump’s impeachment

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AI Green, a Democratic Congressman, has threatened to file articles of impeachment against the United States, US President, Donald Trump in the next 30 days.

The lawmaker, who believes that the president “does not deserve” the White House, said Trump may not complete four years in office.

Addressing a mammoth crowd during the “hands off” protest on Saturday, AI Green described himself as the ‘David’ that would bring the Goliath (Trump) down.

He said, “For every Goliath there is a David. I want you to know Mr President, this David is going to file articles of impeachment against you within the next 30 days.

“I’m bringing articles of impeachment, I’m coming for you Mr President, this David is coming for you”.

Ekwutosblog reports that protests erupted in several cities in the United States on Saturday as opposition against President Trump’s administration continues to thicken.

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DR Congo and M23 rebels engage in peace talks

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M23 rebels have captured several towns and cities in eastern Congo, forcing local forces to surrender [FILE: February 22, 2025] © Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images
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The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels engaged in peace talks in Qatar after days of unrest. M23 has withdrawn from the town of Walikale and talks will continue next week.

 

A delegation of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) government held fresh talks with M23 rebels in Qatar last week about stopping the fighting in the country’s east, a source close to the discussions told news Reuters and AFP news agencies on Saturday.

Both sides have not yet commented on the talks.

The first round of talks was held in late March, which a source close to discussions described as “positive.” The meeting was held in private and talks are set to continue in Doha on April 9.

“Further talks are now expected in Doha, again with the Qataris mediating, to sustain the momentum and explore constructive solutions to end the conflict peacefully,” the source told AFP news agency.

The country’s army on Thursday said rebels had withdrawn from the mining hub of Walikale as decided during talks in March. Initially, they had accused the M23 of not following through on their commitment.

Walikale is the furthest west the M23 has reached.

The conflict in Congo

The eastern Congo conflict’s complexity, rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and competition for mineral resources, is further complicating the mediation efforts.

The DRC has vast reserves of lithium and cobalt and other minerals, especially in the east. This has led to several rebellions and clashes over control of the region.

The ethnic Tutsi-led M23 rebel group was founded in 2012 and remains one of the most powerful rebel groups to operate in the region.

Rwanda has been accused of backing M23, which it has denied.

The unrest in Congo has also spread around the region, with Uganda and Burundi both having troops in the country.

Edited by: Zac Crellin

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