Millions of Floridians remained without power Friday morning after Hurricane Milton made its way out of the state and into the Atlantic Ocean.
The devastating storm, which struck Florida at Category 3 strength, left at least 14 dead after cutting a path of destruction along the state’s western coast when it made landfall Wednesday night. Neighborhoods were flooded, homes destroyed, the roof of Tropicana Field was torn off and a crane fell on an office building.
Despite the destruction, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Milton was not as severe as he and other officials feared.
“The storm was significant, but fortunately this was not the worst-case scenario,” DeSantis said at a briefing Thursday. He cited that the storm was weakening before landfall and said the storm surge “as initially reported has not been as significant overall as was seen with Hurricane Helene.”
DeSantis said Tampa experienced a reverse storm surge that pushed water away from the coast rather than overwhelming the city.
On Thursday, power outages increased gradually as the storm moved off the state’s east coast.
While the state’s western coast bore the brunt of Hurricane Milton, Milton’s impacts extended far from landfall . Others inland were still dealing with power outages and some blocked roads.
Hurricane Milton: Milton caused severe damage. But some of Florida’s famous beaches may have gotten a pass.
Florida power outage map
As of Friday morning, 2.2 million Floridians remained without power, according to USA TODAY’s Power Outage Tracker .
The Midwest Coast remains the hardest hit, with 483,225 residents in Hillsborough County and another 460,544 in Pinellas County still in the dark. In Pasco County, 113,745 power outages were reported.
Further south, 152,471 residents in Sarasota County and 129,181 in Manatee County were without power Friday morning. On the state’s east coast, 139,835 homes and businesses were without power in Volusia County.
In Polk County, south of Orlando, 136,292 Floridians were without power.
Restoration efforts after outages
Once power outages begin, restoration efforts will be launched where and when it is safe to do so.
Florida Power and Light Company said it has restored power to more than 730,000 customers as of Thursday afternoon, the company said in its latest news release . The company has deployed a force of about 17,000 people to assess damage, coordinate with local emergency services and ultimately restore power.
“While storm surge, flooding, downed trees and tornadoes present restoration challenges, damage assessment teams across the state are helping FPL send the right personnel and equipment to the right locations to restore power safely and as quickly as possible,” FPL said in a statement.
Power restoration will be prioritized to restore power to the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible. According to FPL, priorities are given to :
- Power plants and lines and substations damaged
- Critical facilities such as hospitals, police and fire stations, communication facilities, water treatment plants and transportation providers.
- Main roads with supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations and other necessary community services.
- Smaller groups and local areas.
Contributing: Juan B. Acon , Trevor Hughes , Christopher Cann , Chris Kenning , Jorge L. Ortiz , Thao Nguyen , Jeanine Santucci , N’dea Yancey-Bragg , Julia Gomez USA TODAY
Eric Lagatta covers breaking news and trends for USA TODAY. Contact him at elagatta@gannett.com
