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FEMA leader vows “whole federal family” will respond to Hurricane Milton amid reports of staff shortages
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said Wednesday that the agency has a “layered approach” to staffing, along with being just one part of the federal government’s support mechanisms, amid concerns about resources as the agency prepares for powerful Hurricane Milton as it barrels toward Florida shortly after the deadly Hurricane Helene.
“We’re just one part of the team,” Criswell said on “CBS Mornings” early Wednesday. “We bring in the whole federal family, the entire federal government to support the efforts that are going on across all of the states that have been impacted by the storm.”
Debris from Helene, which made landfall on Sept. 26, is still on the ground in Florida as the state braces for Milton. Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that less than 10% of FEMA’s resources will be available to respond in the aftermath of the hurricane. Criswell said the figures represent a specific, disaster-management focused part of the agency’s workforce, while noting that the agency has other employees available.
“In fact, when everybody signs on to work with us, we make them sign a statement that says every employee is an emergency manager,” Criswell said. “So we start to repurpose some of our steady state employees from headquarters, but we also move people around from non-critical life threatening offices or open field offices that we have to support the immediate needs.”
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall early Thursday, after barreling across as a Category 4 storm — nearing on a Category 5 — on Wednesday morning on its approach toward Florida’s central west coast.
Criswell encouraged people to listen to local officials as Milton approaches, saying there may still be time to get out of the most affected areas and urging that “nobody needs to die from this storm.”
“This storm is going to be like nothing that they have ever seen before,” Criswell said. She addressed those who want to remain in their homes, saying that they may only need to go a few miles away for safety.
For those who are unable to evacuate, Criswell said they should pay attention to local officials, charge all devices, and call 911 if immediate assistance is needed. She said additional teams would be in the area to support search and rescue efforts after the storm passes.
On the issue of resources, Criswell noted that the federal response won’t be without its challenges.
“I’m not saying it’s not going to be challenging,” she said. “We know that there’s a lot going on with all of these efforts, but we plan for this and we’ve done this before.”
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Scope of Hurricane Milton damage emerges as power outages and fuel shortages remain in Florida
Florida residents repaired damage from Hurricane Milton and cleaned up debris Friday after the storm smashed through coastal communities and tore homes to pieces, flooded streets and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least 16 people deaths are linked to the storm, officials told CBS News.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, the system flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. Dozens of rescues have been conducted across the area.
Tampa evacuee Lillian Bicart, 80, told “CBS Mornings” that flooding severely damaged her home.
“I have to sit down and think what I’m going to do, because I lose everything, everything too wet,” Bicart said. “I never think about this. This is a bad dream, very bad.”
Tornadoes also left a swath of damage across Central and Southern Florida.
“Even with the hurricanes, it’s never been this bad ever,” Jashanti Williams, whose family hid in the bathroom as the tornadoes ripped through the neighborhood, told “CBS Mornings.”
As residents assessed damage to their property, over 2.5 million customers in Florida remained without power Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
A flood of vehicles headed south Thursday evening on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the middle of the state, as relief workers and evacuated residents returned to assess the aftermath. Bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed by, along with portable bathroom trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles.
As residents raced back to find out whether their homes were destroyed or spared, finding gas was still a challenge. Fuel stations were still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a two and a half hour drive north of where the storm made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on Wednesday night.
Natasha Ducre and her husband, Terry, were just feeling lucky to be alive. Milton peeled the tin roof off of their cinderblock home in their neighborhood a few blocks north of the Manatee River, about a 45-minute drive south of Tampa. She pushed to leave as the storm barreled toward them Wednesday night after he resisted evacuating their three-bedroom house where he grew up and where the couple lived with their three kids and two grandchildren. She believes the decision saved their lives.
They returned to find the roof of their home scattered in sheets across the street, the wooden beams of what was their ceiling exposed to the sky. Inside, fiberglass insulation hung down in shreds, their belongings soaked by the rain and littered with chunks of shattered drywall.
“It ain’t much, but it was ours. What little bit we did have is gone,” she said. “It’s gone.”
With shelters no longer available and the cost of a hotel room out of reach, they plan to cram into Terry Ducre’s mother’s house for now. After that, they’re not sure.
“I don’t have no answers,” Natasha Ducre said. “What is my next move? What am I going to do?”
Meanwhile, Florida theme parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld planned to reopen Friday after an assessment of the effects of the storm.
Orlando International Airport, the state’s busiest, said departures for domestic flights and international flights would resume Friday, after resuming domestic arrivals Thursday evening. The airport had minor damage, including a few leaks and downed trees.
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