Hurricane Milton live: Florida battered as police chief warns ‘we’ll be finding bodies’

Providing aid agencies like mine with critical funding could be the difference between life and death for millions of Americans, writes FEMA worker Nathalie Beasnael – but Republican paranoia is getting in the way.

Read Nathalie’s full piece for The Independent below.

K-12 schools across 53 of Florida’s 67 counties are set to close on Thursday, after Hurricane Milton ploughed through the state after making landfall on the west coast on Wednesday evening.

Schools across 21 of those closed counties are expected to reopen on Friday, according to the Florida Department of Education.

“The Florida Department of Education works closely with school districts before, during and after natural disasters to ensure they have the resources necessary to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. We will continue collaborating with district leadership to address questions as they arise,” a statement reads on the FLDOE website.

Ron DeSantis said he “has not confirmed” the death of four people said to have been killed by a tornado in St Lucie County on Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall.

The Florida Governor to specify that “that does not mean there has not been any”.

He continued: “There’s a process where this happens with the state. I know with the tornadoes, it seems very likely that there were, that there were some.

“With the tornadoes, that’s the only reports we’ve received. No confirmations. I imagine there’s going to be some confirmations, but it’s too soon to tell.”

The morning briefing has now finished.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has activated a Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program, with $50m available to hand out as loans for small businesses.

“We have 50 million available to Florida small businesses, and it’s zero interest loan, very flexible repayment options,” he said in a Thursday morning briefing.

“You can apply for loans of up to $50,000 through the program. Loans of up to $100,000 are available for agriculture and aquaculture small businesses and loans of $150,000 are available for citrus and cattle operations.”

“Standing storm waters can also carry a bacteria that can lead to fatal infections,” Ron DeSantis said.

“This type of infection was responsible for a fatality following Hurricane Helene, so please avoid wading through standing water.”

The governor’s warning comes after the Florida Department of Health previously warned residents to avoid heavily-flooded areas due to the risk of Vibrio infections.

Exposure to the bacteria (often through open wounds or ingestion), which lives in coastal waters, can cause the illness vibriosis. The vibrio infection can cause watery diarrhea, vomiting, blistering skin lesions and discharge – if wounds become infected.

“The Florida Department of Health (Department) urges residents and visitors to avoid floodwaters and prevent exposure to Vibrio in anticipation of flooding and heavy rain caused by Hurricane Milton,” the Florida Department of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.

About 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill, the Center for Disease and Control Prevention says on its website.

“Now, as you survey damage and clean up, please be cautious of hazards,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during a Thursday morning press briefing call.

“We have post-storm fatalities almost every storm, and a lot of these fatalities are avoidable, so please be cautious of downed power lines.”

He continued: “Don’t touch them. Don’t remove tree debris that may be entangled with downed power lines. Standing water can conceal down power lines and other hazards. So please be mindful and never walk through storm waters.”

DeSantis announced that dozens of search and rescue missions have been completed, with more than 48 residents being saved across Florida.

“State search and rescue teams report at least 48 individuals have been rescued as of 6.30am. National Guard search and rescue teams have worked overnight and successfully executed rescues of families and pets on the west coast and from the destruction of the tornadoes in east, in the central, and eastern parts of Florida.”

“The [Florida National Guard] continues to work into the morning and have 31 rescue aircraft operational, and hundreds of rescuers engaged in over 125 active missions In 26 different counties,” DeSantis said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shared his relief that “this was not the worst case scenario” for Florida in the wake of Hurricane Milton slamming into the state’s west coast on Wednesday night.

“Thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario,” the governor said on a Thursday morning press briefing.

“The storm did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge, as initially reported, has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”