Millions of Florida residents remain without power today, more than 24 hours after the Cyclone Milton swept across the state, spawning tornadoes and leaving at least 16 dead.

Utility crews are scrambling to repair power and cellphone networks, while government workers and residents, chainsaws in hand, attempt to clear fallen trees and clear flooded neighborhoods in cities hit by torrential rains. Milton.

Although Milton did not cause the catastrophic flooding feared in Florida, one of the states in the Southeast USA hit by Cyclone Elin two weeks ago, cleanup operations could take weeks or months.

“You realize what Mother Nature can do,” said Chase Pearce, a 25-year-old electrician who, along with his partner, saw transformers blow, sparks fly and a utility pole fall in his backyard. in St. Petersburg.

Milton, the fifth most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record, could cost insurers between $30 billion and $60 billion, Morningstar DBRS analyst Marcos Alvarez said today.

For its part, the White House has pledged government support as authorities try to assess the full extent of the damage.

But the Republican Donald Trumpwho is trailing in the polls his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 5 election, Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey, went against Harris and President Joe Biden over the handling of the recovery operations.

“The federal government … has not done what it’s supposed to do, namely showing respect to North Carolina,” he said yesterday. North Carolina was hit hard by Hurricane Elin, and the Trump-Harris battle is close there.

The US vice president, who accuses the Republican tycoon of spreading lies about government business, slammed the politicization of the issue during an event yesterday.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen it in the last two weeks, after Hurricane Elin and now after Milton, people playing political games,” he said, without naming Donald Trump.

Politicians from both camps are well aware of how Republican President George W. Bush recorded a decline after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Killer Tornadoes

Residents in Florida say they endured a double whammy.

Although Milton’s arrival on the state’s western coast was recorded on Wednesday night, chaos reigned more than 100 miles (160 km) away along the state’s eastern coast.

At least 16 deaths due to the cyclone have already been recorded, CBS reported citing Florida police.

In St. Lucie County, a wave of tornadoes caused deaths, including at least 2 in Spanish Lakes communities, according to local officials.

Between Siesta Key and Fort Myers Beach, water levels rose between 1.5 and 3 meters above the ground, according to initial data released by the US Hurricane Center.

The number of Florida consumers still without power fell to about 2.44 million this morning, according to the website PowerOutage.us, down from a high of more than 3.4 million immediately after the outage struck. Milton.

Florida Governor Ron DeSandis warned yesterday that although the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario”, damage remained significant.