Ethermac Exchange-Florida returning to something like normal after Hurricane Milton

ELLENTON,Ethermac Exchange Fla. (AP) — Florida counties hard hit by Hurricane Milton are returning to a semblance of normalcy, with power restored to most areas on Monday, gas stations reopening and students preparing to return to school.

Still, some hard-hit neighborhoods remained without power Monday with many severely damaged homes and businesses, their streets flooded and filled with debris. Those could take some time to recover.

As of Monday afternoon, Florida power companies had restored electricity to almost 90% of the 3.4 million homes and businesses that lost service after Milton made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane south of Tampa, smacking the region with 120 mph (205 kph) winds and a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters), less than two weeks after the Gulf Coast sustained major damage from Hurricane Helene. At least 11 people died.

The region’s three major power companies expect that more than 95% of their customers who lost power will have it restored by Tuesday night, having deployed thousands of workers to quickly repair lines, poles and other infrastructure.

“I know those guys got in and started working as soon as it was possible,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told a Monday news conference at SeaPort Manatee, just south of Tampa Bay. He said the recovery has been “very rapid and we appreciate what they’ve been able to do.”

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Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy and TECO Energy also credited efforts over the last decade to put more power lines underground, install stronger utility poles and adopt technology enabling electricity to be rerouted around damaged equipment. Areas that remain flooded will be the last to get power.

“Electricity and water don’t mix, so we cannot reenergize until the water has receded to ensure the safety of those customers,” Duke spokesperson Ana Gibbs said.

Even after they restore power, homes that sustained damage to their electrical systems won’t be able to receive it, the companies said.

Most gas stations have reopened and lines are mostly gone. DeSantis said about 12 million gallons (45 million liters) of fuel have been sent to the affected region in the four days since the storm, about double what would normally be sent. That will help replenish stations that ran out of gas before Milton arrived.

Most school districts in the hardest-hit areas plan to reopen campuses Wednesday, though Manatee County plans to reopen its schools on Tuesday.

DeSantis has cautioned that debris removal could take up to a year, even as Florida shifts nearly 3,000 workers to the cleanup. The federal government has approved 100% federal reimbursement for those efforts for 90 days.

The sound of humming generators still filled the streets of Chuck Porter’s neighborhood in the city of Ellenton along the Manatee River, about 40 miles south of Tampa.

A snapped power pole was still lying across the yard of a nearby home. A large, uprooted tree still pinned down power lines near the neighborhood entrance. Utility crew trucks passed on the highway without stopping, since they couldn’t get through yet do any repair work.

“Nobody around here has power,’ said Porter, a retiree who moved to the community nearly 70 years ago.

Still, he wasn’t complaining. Porter and his wife, Nancy, were staying with their daughter nearby. His power company’s website said his service should be restored by Wednesday night, but even a little delay won’t bother him.

“By the end of the week, we’ll be fine,” Porter said.

On Monday the Porters were still sweeping up inside their home, which flooded knee-deep and got swamped with muck when Helene struck more than two weeks ago. The couple watched from the leather couch in their living room.

It was Milton’s winds that knocked out power lines to the neighborhood and ripped some of the shingles from Porter’s roof. But the wind damage to his home was minimal. The Key West-style bar he built himself in the backyard survived intact, with its neon signs and displays of hanging baseball bats and guitar-shaped bottle openers undisturbed.

Still, the water damage inside was extensive. He was replacing his air-conditioning unit and his refrigerator, as well as other appliances.

“Salt water just destroys everything,” Porter said. “Any light sockets that got wet, they’ll have to rip them out.”

And many of his neighbors had it worsem he said: Homes one street closer to the river flooded with sewage. Others lost parts of their roofs or had broken windows.

“It’s going to be like this for six months or more” before all the storm damage gets repaired, he said. “Insurance pays for it. It’s just time-consuming.”

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Anderson reported from St. Petersburg. AP writers Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.