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 winds and a storm surge of up to 10 feet, 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.”
Most gas stations have reopened and lines are mostly gone. DeSantis said about 12 million gallons 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.
