Joe Biden returns to a beleaguered Florida to survey Hurricane Milton damage in Tampa area
Source: USA Today
Published 10:52 a.m. ET Oct. 13, 2024 | Updated 5:43 p.m. ET Oct. 13, 2024
ST. PETE BEACH — Returning to a beleaguered state battered by back-to-back hurricanes, President Joe Biden landed in Florida Sunday to again survey the damage from a major storm and rally federal resources around a recovery effort that likely will take years and billions of dollars.
Biden was in Florida just 10 days earlier to assess the impact of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in the Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm before cutting a swath of destruction north through Georgia, North Carolina and other states.
The president headed back to Florida after Hurricane Milton made landfall Oct. 9 on Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm, delivering a second powerful blow. Nearly a million electric utility customers still were without power in Florida Sunday morning and gasoline shortages persist.
After arriving at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Biden toured damaged areas by helicopter, met with state and local officials, greeted residents impacted by the storms and first responders. He also spoke to the media in front of a collapsed home in St. Pete Beach, a barrier island community inundated by storm surge. “We’re going to do everything we can to get power back in your home, not only helping you recover but to help you build back stronger," Biden said.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/10/13/joe-biden-hurricane-milton-damage-florida/75659009007/