Florida residents were evacuated to Milton after a wake-up call from Helen

CORTEZ, Fla. (AP) — Floridians are recovering from Hurricane MiltonMany returning home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm spent much of Saturday searching for gas as fuel shortages gripped the state.

In St. Petersburg, dozens lined up in front of a station that did not have fuel, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them were Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter, Magnolia, who arrived at the station at 7 a.m. and were still waiting four hours later.

“They told me they have gas coming, but they don't know when it will get here,” he said. “I have no choice. I have to sit with her all day until I get gas.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state has opened three fuel distribution sites and plans to open several more. Residents can get 10 gallons (37.85 liters) each for free, he said.

“Obviously, as power is restored… and the Port of Tampa opens, you'll see fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” DeSantis said.

Officials supplied gas stations in the region with the state's fuel stocks and provided generators to stations that remained without electricity.

Disaster strikes twice

Those who arrived at the home were assessing the damage and beginning the arduous clean-up process. Some, like Bill O'Connell, a board member of Bahia Vista Gulf in Venice, thought the matter was over after the condo association hired companies to assemble, process and dry the following units. Hurricane Helen. O'Connell said Milton canceled that work and caused additional damage.

“The water brought back everything that was already flooded, and brought back all the sand on our property that we removed,” O'Connell said. “The winds also caused some catastrophic damage, taking off many roofs and shattering many windows causing further damage inside the units.”

The two hurricanes left devastating chaos in the fishing village of Cortez, a community of 4,100 along the northern edge of Sarasota Bay. Residents of its modest one-story wood-and-stucco shacks were working to remove broken furniture and tree limbs, piling debris in the street as they had done after Hurricane Helen.

“Everything was shot up,” said Mark Pruett, a retired Manatee County street sweeper, who watched waves rise 4 feet (1.2 meters) high during Helen. “We'll replace the electrical and plumbing and go from there.”

Pruett and his wife, Katherine, lived for 36 years in a low-slung house that now looks like an empty shell. All the furniture had to be thrown out, the brick and tile walls and floors had to be cleaned of mud, and the drywall had to be ripped out.

Kathryn Pruett said they felt “absolutely terrified” when Hurricane Milton-Cortez threatened shortly after Helen, forcing them to temporarily halt the cleanup and evacuation process. Fortunately, their home was not damaged by the second storm.

“This is where we live,” Katherine Prout said. “We're just hoping we get the insurance company to help us.”

In Bradenton Beach, Jane Hilliard collected wet sand mixed with rocks and tree roots and dumped the mixture into a wheelbarrow.

“This was all grass,” Hilliard said of the sandy mess beneath her feet. “They're going to have to make 500 trips of this.”

Hilliard, who moved to Florida six months ago and lives inland, said she was happy to participate and help clean up her friend's house, which is located a block from the beach in Bradenton Beach.

Furniture and appliances were outside alongside debris from interior drywall that had been removed after Helen sent several feet of storm surge into the house. Inside, walls were blown down to 4 feet (1.2 m), exposing the beams underneath.

“You're rolling with the punches,” she said. “The community is the best part, though. Everyone helps each other out.”

Milton killed at least 10 people after it made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, sweeping through central Florida, submerging barrier islands and causing flooding. Generate deadly tornadoes. Officials say the death toll could have been higher had it not been for the large-scale evacuations.

Overall, more than 1,000 people had been rescued in the storm's aftermath as of Saturday, DeSantis said.

Property damage and economic costs amount to billions

Sunday, President Joe Biden It will survey the devastation that has previously been done to Florida's Gulf Coast Hurricane. He said he hopes to connect with DeSantis during the visit.

The trip gives Biden another opportunity to pressure Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to summon lawmakers back to Washington to approve more funding during the pre-election recess. It's something Johnson says he won't do.

Biden stresses that Congress needs to act now to ensure that the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency get the money they need to get through the hurricane season, which extends into November in the Atlantic Ocean.

DeSantis welcomed the federal government's approval of the disaster declaration announced Saturday, and said he had strong support from Biden.

“He basically said, you know, you guys are doing a great job. We're here for you,” he said when asked about his conversations with Biden. “We sent out a big application and got approved for what we wanted.”

Moody's Analytics estimated on Saturday that the economic costs from the storm would range between $50 billion and $85 billion, including up to $70 billion in property damage and a loss in economic output of up to $15 billion.

Safety threats remain, including rising river levels

As the recovery continues, DeSantis warned people to be vigilant, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water. About 1.3 million Floridians were still without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to the report poweroutage.us.

Rivers will “continue to rise” over the next four or five days leading to river flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward, National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Close said. These areas were exposed to the greatest amount of rain, which came on top of a wet summer that included several previous hurricanes.

“There's not much you can do but wait,” Close said of rising river levels. “At least there's no rain in the forecast, no heavy rain. So here we have a break from all our wet weather.”

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Farrington reported from St. Petersburg. Associated Press journalists Chris O'Meara in Lithia, Florida; Curt Anderson in Tampa; Terry Spencer out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Stephanie Mattat in Fort Pierce, Florida; Frieda Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed. ___

A previous version of this story misspelled the surname of a couple at a rest stop off Interstate 75 north of Tampa. Their names are Lee and Pamela Eisenbaum, not Eisenbaum.