Florida is slowly recovering from Hurricane Milton, there is a lack of fuel – World – News

Florida is slowly recovering from Hurricane Milton. Residents of the peninsula in the southeast of the US spent Saturday in lines at gas stations because there is a shortage of fuel in this state, writes the AP agency. Florida, which was hit by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks before Milton, is still at risk of flooding from swollen rivers, according to CNN. More than a million households are still without power.

Drivers wait hours for fuel.

Florida has already opened three fuel distribution points and plans to open more, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters. According to him, residents can get ten gallons, or about 38 liters, for free per person.

“Once power is restored… and the port of Tampa is open, there will be plenty of fuel. But until then, we want to offer people other options,” DeSantis said.

At the gas station in St. Petersburg on the west coast of the peninsula, despite this, according to AP, dozens of people were standing in line, hoping for early deliveries of fuel. “They told me they have gas, but they don’t know when it will be here,” said Daniel Thornton, who arrived at the station with his nine-year-old daughter Magnolia at seven in the morning. Four hours later, they were still waiting. “I have no choice. I have to sit here with her all day until they give me gas,” he said.

Florida is facing fuel shortages as residents slowly make their way home on congested highways. Many of them ran hundreds of kilometers away from the storm, fearing that it would do the same damage as the recent Hurricane Helene, which killed 20 people in the state.

According to CNN, Milton left at least 17 dead and brought storm surges of several meters to the coast. In some areas, it rained as much water in three hours as normally falls in three months. Deadly tornadoes were forming elsewhere.

On Saturday, rescuers continued rescue operations in the northern and central parts of the state due to only slowly receding water from flooded rivers. However, airports, harbors and amusement parks, including Disney World in Orlando and the airport in Tampa, are gradually opening all over the country. Sarasota International Airport, on the other hand, will remain closed until Wednesday.

Milton struck near Sarasota on Wednesday evening and in the following hours swept across Florida from west to east before leaving the state and heading over the ocean. When the storm made landfall, it had the strength of a Category 3 hurricane on a scale of five, when it left it was a Category 1 hurricane.