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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Rescue teams plucked Florida residents from the flotsam of Hurricane Milton on Thursday after the storm smashed through coastal communities where it tore homes into pieces, filled streets with mud and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least eight people were dead. Arriving just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene, the system also knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. Among the most dramatic rescues, Hillsborough County officers found a 14-year-old boy floating on a piece of fence and pulled him onto a boat. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico after his fishing boat was stranded in waters roiled by Hurricane Milton. The agency estimated the man had survived winds of 75 to 90 mph (121 to 145 kph) and waves up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) high during his night on the water. “This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady said. Despite the destruction, many people expressed relief that Milton wasn’t worse. The hurricane spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized. The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not “the worst-case scenario.” “You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks — not easy to go through — but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” the governor told a briefing in Sarasota. He said he was “very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.” Five people were killed in tornadoes in the Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, where homes were destroyed, authorities said. Police also found a woman dead under a fallen tree branch in Tampa. In Volusia County, authorities said two people, a 79-year-old woman in Ormond Beach and a 54-year-old woman in Port Orange, were also killed when trees fell on homes. Speaking at a White House briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there were reports of as many as 10 fatalities from tornadoes, but he cautioned that the number was tentative. At least 340 people and 49 pets have been rescued in ongoing efforts, DeSantis said Thursday afternoon. South of Tampa, Natasha Ducre and her husband, Terry, felt lucky to be alive after the hurricane peeled the tin roof off their cinder block home in Palmetto. They spent the night in a shelter with their three children and two grandchildren after she pushed them to leave. “I said, ‘Baby, we got to go. Because we’re not going to survive this,’” she said. They returned to find the roof torn into sheets across the street, shredded insulation hanging from exposed ceiling beams and their belongings soaked. “It ain’t much but it was ours,” she said. “What little bit we did have is gone.” The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) — lower than in the worst place during Helene. The storm also dumped up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) of rain in some areas. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding. Among the dozens of tornadoes was a twister that hit the tiny barrier island of Matlacha, just off Fort Myers. The fishing-and-tourism village also endured a surge, with many of the colorful buildings sustaining serious damage. Tom Reynolds, 90, spent the morning sweeping out 4 feet (1.2 meters) of mud and water and collecting chunks of aluminum siding torn off by a twister that also picked up a car and threw it across the road. Elsewhere on the island, a house was blown into a street, temporarily blocking it. Some structures caught fire. Reynolds said he planned to repair the home he built three decades ago. “What else am I going to do?” he said. In contrast, city workers on Anna Maria Island were grateful not to be wading through floodwaters as they picked up debris Thursday morning, two weeks after Helene battered buildings and blew in piles of sand up to 6 feet (1.8 m) high. Those piles may have helped shield homes from further damage, said Jeremi Roberts of the State Emergency Response Team. “I’m shocked it’s not more,” city worker Kati Sands said as she cleared the streets of siding and broken lights. “We lost so much with Helene, there wasn’t much left.” Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage. Power was knocked out across much of the state. More than 3.4 million homes and businesses were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg — was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. Debris littered the field. About 80,000 people spent the night in shelters, and thousands of others fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people. In Punta Gorda, a 10-foot (3-meter) surge from the Peace River swept into the historic district, damaging homes and depositing six boats along one riverside street. It was the third surge to hit the neighborhood in three months. Josh Baldwin said he was leaning toward scrapping his 38-foot (11.6-meter) boat rather than pay $100,000 to fix it. He couldn’t get insurance because it was moored in Punta Gorda. “They don’t like to pay out, and this place always gets ruined in hurricanes,” he said. A half-block away, information technology workers Kent and Cathy Taylor and their son were using an SUV attached to a chain to pull waterlogged drywall out of the bottom floor of their three-story home, which they bought in July. The lower level is gutted, but the upper floors are still structurally sound. “It will be beautiful again — it’s just a nick,” Cathy Taylor said. By Thursday afternoon, Milton was headed into the Atlantic Ocean as a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 75 mph (120 kph) — just barely hurricane force. Crossing the bridge from the mainland to Anna Maria Island early Thursday, Police Chief John Cosby breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly all residents had evacuated. There were no injuries or deaths, and the projected storm surge never happened. After fearing that his police department would be underwater, it remained dry. “It’s nice to have a place to come back to,” he said. NOTE: This story was first published on Oct. 10, 2024. It was updated on Oct. 11, 2024, to correct the last name of a couple whose home was severely damaged. They are Natasha and Terry Ducre, not Shannon. It was previously corrected to remove an erroneous reference to 150 tornadoes. Scientists say it’s too early to know how many tornadoes developed.  

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, where it knocked out power to more than 3 million customers and whipped up 150 tornadoes. The storm caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit. The system tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not “the worst-case scenario.” The deadly storm surge feared for Tampa never materialized, though the storm dumped up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) of rain in some areas, the governor said. The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) — lower than in the worst place during Helene. “We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got more to do, but we will absolutely get through this.” As dawn broke Thursday, storm-surge warnings were still posted for much of the east-central Florida coast and north into Georgia. Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding. “We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out,” Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said on Facebook. Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was “absolutely staggering,” according to City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city received 13.5 inches (34 cm) of rain. “We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” he said in a video posted online Thursday morning. The tiny barrier island of Matlacha, just off Fort Myers, got hit by both a tornado and a surge, with many of the colorful buildings in the fishing and tourist village sustaining serious damage. Tom Reynolds, 90, spent the morning sweeping out four feet of mud and water and collecting chunks of aluminum siding torn off by a twister that also picked up a car and threw it across the road. Elsewhere on the island, a house was blown into a street, temporarily blocking it. Some structures caught fire. Reynolds said he planned to repair the home he built three decades ago. “What else am I going to do?” he said. In contrast, city workers on Anna Maria Island were grateful not to be wading through floodwaters as they picked up debris Thursday morning, two weeks after Helene battered buildings and blew in piles of sand up to 6 feet (1.8 m) high. Those piles may have helped shield homes from further damage, said Jeremi Roberts of the State Emergency Response Team. “I’m shocked it’s not more,” city worker Kati Sands said as she cleared the streets of siding and broken lights. “We lost so much with Helene, there wasn’t much left.” The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.4 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg — was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. Debris littered the field, but no injuries were reported. Before the storm hit, first responders were moved from a staging area there. St. Petersburg residents could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service. Mayor Ken Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system. State officials said they completed more than 40 rescues overnight and crews would be going door to door in some areas Thursday. In Tampa, police said they rescued 15 people from a single-story home damaged by a fallen tree. “We are laser-focused on search-and-rescue operations today,” said Col. Mark Thieme, executive director of the Florida State Guard. Among the scores of tornadoes, one twister touched down in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado hit in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station’s canopy to shreds. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and at least four people killed in tornadoes, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said. Before the hurricane arrived, about 125 homes were destroyed, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By early Thursday, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph (135 kph) and leaving the state near Cape Canaveral. The storm slammed into a region still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage. Officials had issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. Jackie Curnick said she wrestled with her decision to stay at home in Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. She and her husband started packing Monday to evacuate, but they struggled to find available hotel rooms, and the few they came by were too expensive. With a 2-year-old son and a baby girl due Oct. 29, Curnick said there were too many unanswered questions if they got in the car and left: Where would they sleep? Would they be able to fill their gas tank? And could they even find a safe route out of the state? “The thing is it’s so difficult to evacuate in a peninsula,” she said ahead of the storm. “In most other states, you can go in any direction to get out. In Florida, there are only so many roads that take you north or south.” Video taken during the storm showed howling winds and sheets of rain lashing their glass-enclosed swimming pool as their son and dog watched. Trees shook violently. On Thursday morning, she reported that the family was without power but safe. About 80,000 people spent the night in shelters and thousands of others fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people. In Orlando, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World remained closed Thursday. The Tampa airport, which took minimal damage, was expected to reopen no later than Friday, DeSantis said. Crossing the bridge from the mainland to Anna Maria Island early Thursday, Police Chief John Cosby breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly all residents had evacuated, there were no injuries or deaths and the projected storm surge never happened. After fearing that his police department would be under water, it remained dry. “It’s nice to have a place to come back to,” he said. Associated Press journalists Holly Ramer in New Hampshire; Joseph Frederick in West Bradenton, Florida; Curt Anderson in Tampa; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Brenden Farrington in Tallahassee; Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

TAMPA, Fla. — Hurricane Milton crashed into Florida as a Category 3 storm Wednesday, Oct. 9, pounding the coast with ferocious winds of over 100 mph and producing a series of tornadoes around the state. Tampa avoided a direct hit. The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph as it roared ashore at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. Siesta Key is a prosperous strip of white-sand beaches that’s home to 5,500 people about 70 miles south of Tampa. The storm was still bringing a potentially deadly storm surge to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers. Heavy rains were also likely to cause flooding inland along rivers and lakes as Milton traverses the Florida peninsula as a hurricane, eventually to emerge in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. More than 1 million homes and businesses were without power Wednesday night in Florida, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. The highest number of outages were in Sarasota County and neighboring Manatee County. Milton slammed into a Florida region still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which caused heavy damage to beach communities with storm surge and killed a dozen people in seaside Pinellas County alone. Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. “This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.” By late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts. By the evening, some counties announced they had suspended emergency services. “Unless you really have a good reason to leave at this point, we suggest you just hunker down,” Polk County Emergency Management Director Paul Womble said in a public update. Multiple tornadoes spawned by the hurricane tore across Florida, the twisters acting as a dangerous harbingers of Milton’s approach. Videos posted to social media sites showed large funnel clouds over neighborhoods in Palm Beach County and elsewhere in the state. Milton was expected to remain a hurricane after hitting land and plowing across the state, including the heavily populated Orlando area, through Thursday. The storm threatened communities still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage. With the storm weaker but growing in size, the surge was projected to reach as high as 9 feet in Tampa Bay. Jackie Curnick said she wrestled with her decision to stay and hunker down at home in Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. But with a 2-year-old son and a baby girl due Oct. 29, Curnick and her husband thought it was for the best. Curnick said they started packing Monday to evacuate, but they couldn’t find any available hotel rooms, and the few they came by were too expensive. She said there were too many unanswered questions if they got in the car and left: Where to sleep, if they’d be able to fill up their gas tank, and if they could even find a safe route out of the state. “The thing is it’s so difficult to evacuate in a peninsula,” she said. “In most other states, you can go in any direction to get out. In Florida there are only so many roads that take you north or south.” The famous Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans the mouth of Tampa Bay, closed around midday. Other major bridges also closed. “Yesterday I said the clock was ticking. Today I’m saying the alarm bell is really going off. People need to get to their safe place,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service. At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis described deployment of a wide range of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states; over 50,000 utility workers from as far as California; and highway patrol cars with sirens to escort gasoline tankers to replenish supplies so people could fill up their tanks before evacuating. “Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t think there’s any way around that,” DeSantis said. As of Wednesday night, Milton was centered about 5 miles north of Sarasota and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, the hurricane center reported. It was moving east-northeast at 15 mph, slowing slightly from earlier in the afternoon. Heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of southern Florida starting Wednesday morning, with conditions deteriorating throughout the day. Six to 12 inches of rain, with up to 18 inches in some places, was expected well inland, bringing the risk of catastrophic flooding. One twister touched down Wednesday morning in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado touched down in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station’s canopy to shreds. Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people. Officials warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, because first responders were not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system. In Charlotte Harbor, about 100 miles south of Tampa, clouds swirled and winds gusted as Josh Parks packed his Kia sedan with clothes and other belongings. Two weeks ago, Helene’s surge brought about 5 feet of water to the neighborhood, and its streets remain filled with waterlogged furniture, torn-out drywall and other debris. Parks, an auto technician, planned to flee to his daughter’s home inland and said his roommate had already left. “I told her to pack like you aren’t coming back,” he said. By early afternoon, airlines had canceled about 1,900 flights. SeaWorld was closed all day Wednesday, and Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando shut down in the afternoon. More than 60% of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of gas Wednesday afternoon, according to GasBuddy. DeSantis said the state’s overall supply was fine, and highway patrol officers were escorting tanker trucks to replenish the supply. In the Tampa Bay area’s Gulfport, Christian Burke and his mother stayed put in their three-story concrete home overlooking the bay. Burke said his father designed this home with a Category 5 in mind — and now they’re going to test it. As a passing police vehicle blared encouragement to evacuate, Burke acknowledged staying isn’t a good idea and said he’s “not laughing at this storm one bit.” By Terry Spencer and Kate Payne, The Associated Press. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Holly Ramer in New Hampshire; Joseph Frederick in West Bradenton, Florida; Curt Anderson in Tampa; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Brenden Farrington in Tallahassee; Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A mighty Hurricane Milton flung rain and gusty winds at the Tampa Bay area Wednesday on its steady and potentially catastrophic march toward the west coast of Florida, where officials sounded urgent warnings for residents to evacuate or face grim odds of survival. The National Hurricane Center stressed that it was not certain exactly where Milton’s center would come ashore Wednesday night because the storm’s path might “wobble,” but that the entire Tampa Bay region and points south were at grave risk. Tropical storm-force winds were just off the coast around midday, the center said. “This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.” Milton has fluctuated in intensity as it approaches Florida but was a strong Category 4 hurricane at midday Wednesday and was expected to remain a major storm when its center hits land and then plow across the center of the state, forecasters said. Tampa Bay, near the top of a long stretch of coastline that could be in the bull’s-eye, has not taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century. Residents should not feel relief because of indications Milton’s center might come ashore south of Tampa, Perkins said: “Everybody in Tampa Bay should assume we are going to be ground zero.” Milton targets communities still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida along its devastating march that left at least 230 dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge — projected to reach as high as 12 feet (3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay and up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) farther south, between Sarasota and Fort Myers — could toss it around and compound any damage. “Chaos and heartbreak,” Mary Ann Fairman said when asked about the coming days. Fairman, 84, was among roughly 1,000 people at a shelter in West Bradenton. She stayed home during Helene but packed up blankets, snacks and toiletries and left this time. “The Gulf is practically in our backyard,” she said. In Pasco County, home to over half a million people in bedroom communities for Tampa and St. Petersburg, officials said shortly before noon that they were getting ready to take buses off the road. “This is your last chance if you need to get to a shelter,” they said in a statement. “After that, you’ll need to find a way to the shelter or be prepared to ride out the storm.” The famous Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans the mouth of Tampa Bay, closed around midday. Other major bridges closed, as well. At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis described deployment of a wide range of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states; over 50,000 utility workers from as far as California; and highway patrol cars with sirens to escort gasoline tankers to replenish supplies so people could fill up their tanks before evacuating. “Unfortunately, there will be fatalities; I don’t think there’s any way around that,” DeSantis said. Milton was centered about 160 miles (260 kilometers) southwest of Tampa at midday Wednesday and had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph), the hurricane center reported. It was moving northeast at 17 mph (28 kph) and was expected to make landfall Wednesday night, then remain a hurricane as it crosses Florida — including the heavily populated Orlando area — through Thursday. “Tropical-storm-force winds are just offshore and now is the time to stay inside and away from windows,” the center said in a 1 p.m. advisory. Heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of southern Florida starting Wednesday morning, with conditions deteriorating. Six to 12 inches (15 to 31 centimeters) of rain, with up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) in some places, was expected well inland, bringing the risk of catastrophic flooding. One tornado touched down Wednesday morning in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado touched down in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station’s canopy to shreds. Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties with a population of about 5.9 million people. Officials warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, with first responders not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told residents Wednesday to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of its sewer system. “We have a long road ahead of us, but we will recover and we will rebuild,” Welch said. “But for the next several hours, our focus is to keep everyone safe, and we can do that.” In Charlotte Harbor, and about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, clouds swirled and winds gusted as Josh Parks packed his Kia sedan with clothes and other belongings. Two weeks ago, Helene’s surge brought about 5 feet of water to the neighborhood, and its streets remain filled with waterlogged furniture, torn-out drywall and other debris. Parks, an auto technician, planned to flee to his daughter’s home inland and said his roommate already left. “I told her to pack like you aren’t coming back,” he said. In the Tampa Bay area’s Gulfport, Christian Burke and his mother stayed put in their three-story concrete home overlooking the bay. Burke said his father designed this home with a Category 5 in mind — and now they’re going to test it. As a passing police vehicle blared encouragement to evacuate, Burke acknowledged staying isn’t a good idea but said he’s “not laughing at this storm one bit” — he just believes the house his father built will withstand it. Some 1,700 people hunkered down at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, including Trokon Nagbe and his husband, Morris Kulp. They slept on the floor because they didn’t bring their own cots. “It’s not the Hilton or the Marriott,” Kulp said, “but it sure is appreciated.”

As it has done so on so many other occasions, Caring For Others and the Convoy of Care heard the call, and sprung into action after devastation was left in the wake of Hurricane Helene two weeks ago. The task for ‘All Hands Mission,’ in partnership with Convoy of Care, was to provide relief funds and supplies to aid residents who will be affected by Hurricane Helene. And from the looks of things in the aftermath of this horrific storm, the needs were many. Neighborhoods were left in disarray from the storm’s strong winds, which toppled trees and knocked down power lines. One key component was that in order to get the mission moving, it needed wheels. Emily Crane, VP, Safety and Education for the Georgia Motor Trucking Association, helped get those wheels rolling. “GMTA and its members are honored to be part of the Convoy of Care,” Crane said. “For almost 10 years, we have had the privilege of delivering hope to those who need it most. This time, we are serving many of the communities where our members and their employees are based and will continue to do so long-term as the recovery of these communities is just beginning.” The mission’s execution on Tuesday earned them a guest segment on “Good Morning, America.” The ‘All Hands Mission’ by Caring for Others is a coalition of local companies that aim to provide immediate aid, relief, and comfort to areas severely impacted by catastrophic natural disasters across the U.S. and overseas.  Convoy of Care has been established in partnership with the Georgia Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and delivers much-needed necessities such as food, clothing, batteries, and personal items to affected communities. The group, through donors in the community and the partnership with Caring for Others,  delivered 14 trucks of supplies to the Georgia communities impacted the most in Augusta and Valdosta, according to Crane, who says the GMTA has been a part since 2016. “The needs are significant, and the hearts of those giving are so generous,” Crane said.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on the populous Tampa Bay region with towering storm surges and the power to turn debris from Helene’s devastation into dangerous projectiles. Most of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as the system and its 150 mph (240 kph) winds spun just off Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, creeping toward shore and sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters. With the storm expected to remain fairly strong as it crosses Florida, the hurricane warnings were extended early Tuesday to parts of the state’s east coast. Milton’s center could come ashore Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people. The county that’s home to Tampa ordered areas adjacent to the bay and all mobile and manufactured homes to be evacuated by Tuesday night. “You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told a news conference, assuring residents there would be enough gasoline to fuel their cars for the trip. “You can evacuate tens of miles. You do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.” In Riverview, several drivers waiting in a long line for fuel Tuesday morning said they had no plans to evacuate. “I think we’ll just hang, you know — tough it out,” said Martin Oakes, of Apollo Beach. “We got shutters up. The house is all ready. So this is sort of the last piece of the puzzle.” Ralph Douglas, of Ruskin, said he, too, will stay put, in part because he worries he would run out of gas trying to return after the storm or get blocked by debris. “Where I’m at right now, I don’t think I need to evacuate,” he said. DeSantis said the state has been scrambling to remove wreckage from Hurricane Helene before Milton strikes to avoid the risk of flying pieces of debris. The state has deployed over 300 dump trucks that have removed 1,200 loads of debris and continue to work around the clock, he said. After dawn Tuesday, trash trucks trundled up a nearly deserted street in normally bustling Indian Rocks Beach to gather mounds of debris. Sheriff’s deputies used a loudspeaker to urge anyone left to escape as soon as possible. In Clearwater Beach, a fleet of excavators and dump trucks got to work around 6:30 a.m. to haul away piles of waterlogged couches, mattresses and appliances. Nick Szabo said he was hired to help clear the roads. His team had hauled away some 260 tons of debris Monday and planned to keep working all day Tuesday. Anything left behind will be “like a spear coming at you,” he said. “It feels good to help,” Szabo said. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Milton early Tuesday to a Category 4 hurricane, but forecasters said it still posed ” an extremely serious threat to Florida.” Milton intensified quickly Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm for a time. Forecasters warned that the sea could surge as high as 15 feet at Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders for beach communities all along the coast. In Florida, that means anyone who stays is on their own and first responders are not expected to risk their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm. The state has helped evacuate over 200 health care facilities in Milton’s path, and more than 30 county-run shelters are open, DeSantis said. At the Tampa airport, John Fedor and his wife were trying to catch a cab to a storm shelter after missing multiple flights home to Philadelphia. They had hoped taking a Caribbean cruise would bring them closer, but tensions were rising after they spent nearly $1,000 on unplanned transportation and hotel rooms due to travel delays. After a two-mile walk to the airport, Fedor’s suitcase cracked open and the wheels broke. “We looked into driving home, taking the train home, but nothing worked out,” John Fedor said. “We’re kind of like stranded here.” Milton is forecast to cross central Florida and to dump as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain while heading toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to the hurricane center. That path would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains. Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear its luck is about to run out. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and the White House announced Tuesday that he would postpone a trip to Germany and Angola to monitor Milton, “given the projected trajectory and strength” of the storm. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were helping in one of history’s largest such mobilizations. “I need people to listen to their local officials to get out of harm’s way,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “People don’t need to move far. They just need to move inland.” Stragglers were a problem during Helene and Ian in 2022. Many residents said they evacuated during previous storms only to have major surges not materialize. But there was evidence Monday that people were heeding the warnings to get out before Milton arrives. Vehicles streamed north on Interstate 75, and traffic clogged the southbound lanes for miles as other residents headed for relative safety on the other side of the state, though nearly all of Florida is expected to see some of Milton’s effects. The National Hurricane Center on Tuesday extended its storm-surge warning south along Florida’s east coast to Port Canaveral, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the extreme northwestern Bahamas. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was nearly a ghost town. Ian devastated the community two years ago with its 15-foot (4.5-meter) storm surge. Fourteen people died there. On Monday, the few residents who remained raced to safeguard buildings and belongings. None planned to stay. Signs of Ian remained visible. Rebuilt homes stood next to others in various stages of construction. Construction supplies such as bricks, pipes and workers’ outhouses lined the streets, potential projectiles that could do further damage in a surge or high winds. At the beach Monday, workers busily emptied a general store called the Goodz. Owner Graham Belger said he moved his “Your Island Everything Store” into a trailer after Ian destroyed his permanent building across the street. “We’ll rebuild, but it is going to be bad,” he said. Meanwhile in Mexico, authorities in the state of Yucatan reported only minor damage from Milton, which remained just offshore early Tuesday. Power lines, light poles and trees were knocked down near the coast, and some small thatched-roof structures were destroyed, according to Yucatan Gov. Joaquín Díaz, but he did not report any deaths or injuries.

BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Milton strengthened rapidly Monday into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida, threatening the densely populated Tampa area with a potential direct hit and menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. The center of the storm could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a head-on hit by a hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it is still forecast to hit as a Category 3 hurricane or higher. The storm could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains. “This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”ADVERTISEMENT Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that it was imperative that debris from Helene be cleared ahead of Milton’s arrival so the pieces cannot become projectiles. As evacuation orders were issued, forecasters warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge (2.4 to 3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay and said flash and river flooding could result from 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain in mainland Florida and the Keys, with as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) in places. The Tampa metro area has a population of more than 3.2 million people. “It’s a huge population. It’s very exposed, very inexperienced, and that’s a losing proposition,” MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel said. “I always thought Tampa would be the city to worry about most.” Much of Florida’s west coast was under hurricane and storm surge watches. Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, which often floods during intense storms, was also under a hurricane watch. A hurricane warning was issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, which expected to get sideswiped. The compact Milton intensified quickly Monday over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (257 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. The storm’s center was about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) southwest of Tampa at midday, moving east-southeast at 9 mph (15 kph). The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Helene and its powerful surge. Twelve people died there, with the worst damage along a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater. In the race to clear away the aftermath from Helene, more than 300 vehicles gathered debris Sunday but encountered a locked landfill gate when they tried to drop it off. State troopers used a rope tied to a pickup truck and busted it open, DeSantis said. “We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said. ‘It’s going to be flying missiles’ Lifeguards in Pinellas County, on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, removed beach chairs and other items that could take flight in strong winds. Elsewhere, stoves, chairs, refrigerators and kitchen tables waited in heaps to be picked up. Sarah Steslicki, who lives in Belleair Beach, said she was frustrated more debris had not been collected sooner. “They’ve screwed around and haven’t picked the debris up, and now they’re scrambling to get it picked up,” Steslicki said Monday morning. “If this one does hit, it’s going to be flying missiles. Stuff’s going to be floating and flying in the air.” Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, ordered evacuations for areas adjacent to Tampa Bay and for all mobile and manufactured homes by Tuesday night. “Yes, this stinks. We know that, and it comes on the heels of where a lot of us are still recovering from Hurricane Helene,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “But if you safeguard your families, you will be alive.” Reluctance to evacuate Milton’s approach stirred memories of 2017’s Hurricane Irma, when about 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida in an exodus that jammed freeways and clogged gas stations. Some people who left vowed never to evacuate again. By Monday morning, some gas stations in the Tampa area had already run out of gas. Fuel continued to arrive in Florida, and the state had amassed hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, with much more on the way, DeSantis said. A steady stream of vehicles headed north on Interstate 75, the main highway on the west side of the peninsula, as residents heeded evacuation orders. Even though Tanya Marunchak’s Belleair Beach home was flooded with more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water from Helene, she and her husband were unsure Monday morning if they should evacuate. She wanted to leave, but her husband thought their three-story home was sturdy enough to withstand Milton. “We lost all our cars, all our furniture. The first floor was completely destroyed,” Marunchak said. “This is the oddest weather predicament that there has ever been.” If residents do not evacuate, it could put first responders in jeopardy or make rescues impossible: “If you remain there, you could die, and my men and women could die trying to rescue you,” Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Jason Dougherty said. Why did Milton intensify so fast? Milton’s wind speed increased by 92 mph (148 kph) in 24 hours — a pace that trails only those of Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Felix in 2007. One reason Milton strengthened so rapidly is its small “pinhole eye,” just like Wilma’s, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. The storm likely go through what’s called an eye wall replacement cycle, a natural process that forms a new eye and expands the storm in size but weakens its wind speeds, Klotzbach said. The Gulf of Mexico is unusually warm right now, so “the fuel is just there,” and Milton probably went over an extra-warm eddy that helped goose it further, said University of Albany hurricane scientist Kristen Corbosiero. The last hurricane to be a Category 5 at landfall in the mainland U.S. was Michael in 2018. Widespread cancellations in Florida With the storm approaching, school activities were called off in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, and schools were being converted into shelters. Officials in Tampa made city garages available to residents hoping to protect their cars from flooding. Walt Disney World said it was operating normally for the time being. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers planned to move operations to the New Orleans area for the rest of the week leading to Sunday’s NFL game against the Saints, and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s NHL game Monday against the Nashville Predators was canceled. All road tolls were suspended in west-central Florida. The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it would close after the last flight Tuesday, and Tampa International Airport said it planned to halt airline and cargo flights starting Tuesday. Orlando International Airport, the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most heavily trafficked airport, said it would stop operations Wednesday morning. It has been two decades since so many storms crisscrossed Florida in such a short period of time. In 2004, an unprecedented five storms struck Florida within six weeks, including three hurricanes that pummeled central Florida. Other parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast are still recovering from storms from the past two years. The Fort Myers area in southwest Florida is still rebuilding from Hurricane Ian, which caused $112 billion in damage in 2022. Three hurricanes have thrashed Florida’s Big Bend region in just 13 months, including Helene.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) — Florida is gearing up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years as Hurricane Milton strengthens over warm waters and heads toward major population centers including Tampa and Orlando. About 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida in 2017 as Hurricane Irma bore down on the state. The exodus jammed freeways, led to hourslong lines at gas stations that still had fuel and left evacuees frustrated and, in some cases, vowing never to evacuate again. Hurricane Milton was “moving erratically eastward through the southern Gulf of Mexico” early Monday morning and likely to become a major hurricane later in the day, the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm was centered about 220 miles (354 kilometers) west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 770 miles (1,239 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (144 kph) while moving east at 6 mph (9.6 kph), the hurricane center said. While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to at least 230 people. Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system’s progress, the hurricane center said. Heavy rainfall was expected Sunday ahead of the hurricane and likely will then combine with Milton’s rainfall to flood waterways and streets in Florida, where forecasters said up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain could fall in places through Wednesday night. Building on lessons learned during Irma and other previous storms, Florida is staging emergency fuel for gas vehicles and charging stations for electric vehicles along evacuation routes, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said at a Sunday briefing. “We are looking at every potential, possible location that can potentially house someone, as what we refer to in emergency management, as a refuge of last resort,” Guthrie added. Hurricane Milton is intensifying rapidly and will likely be a major hurricane before slamming into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast midweek. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that while it remains to be seen where Milton will strike, it’s clear the state is going to be hit hard. “I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have major impacts at this point,” he said. “You have time to prepare — all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,” DeSantis said. “If you’re on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you’ll be asked to leave.” With Milton achieving hurricane status, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three simultaneous hurricanes after September, according to Colorado State University hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach. There have been four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene and its powerful storm surge. Twelve people perished as Helene swamped the coast, with the worst damage along the narrow, 20-mile (32-kilometer) string of barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater. DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration Sunday to 51 counties and said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week’s worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road. “We are preparing … for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma,” Guthrie said. People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened codes in 2004, who don’t depend on constant electricity and who aren’t in evacuation zones should probably avoid the roads, Guthrie said. All classes and school activities in St. Petersburg’s Pinellas County preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached. Officials in Tampa opened all city garages free of charge to residents hoping to protect their cars from floodwaters, including electric vehicles. The vehicles must be left on the third floor or higher in each garage. As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove debris, DeSantis said, and he directed Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene’s aftermath to return in preparation for Milton. “All available state assets … are being marshaled to help remove debris,” DeSantis said. “We’re going 24-7 … it’s all hands on deck.” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency’s response to Hurricane’s destruction after Republicans’ false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, created a frenzy of misinformation across devastated communities. “This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it’s really a shame we’re putting politics ahead of helping people,” Criswell told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. It has created fear and mistrust among residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground across the southeast, she said. Despite this, Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton, well before it’s clear exactly where the storm will move across the Florida peninsula this week. “We’re working with the state there to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall,” she said. Federal disaster assistance has surpassed $137 million since Helene struck more than a week ago, one of the largest mobilizations of personnel and resources in recent history, FEMA said Sunday. Some 1,500 active-duty troops, more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and nearly 7,000 federal workers have been deployed, shipping more than 14.9 million meals, 13.9 million liters (3.6 million gallons) of water, 157 generators and 505,000 tarps, along with approving more than $30 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 27,000 households, according to FEMA, the White House and the Department of Defense. More than 800 people unable to return home are staying in lodging provided through FEMA and 22 shelters are still housing nearly 1,000 people as mobile feeding operations continue to help survivors. The response to Helene won’t let up during Milton and its aftermath, because FEMA has the capacity to address multiple disasters simultaneously, the agency said. “My Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding,” Biden said. “We will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders — regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Milton quickly intensified Sunday, Oct. 6, and is on track to become a major hurricane with the Tampa Bay area in its sights, putting Florida on edge and triggering evacuation orders along a coast still reeling from Helene’s devastation. While forecast models vary, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to at least 230 people. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that it’s clear that Florida is going to be hit hard by Milton: “I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have major impacts at this point.” Hurricane Milton was centered about 815 miles west-southwest of Tampa on Sunday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. “You have time to prepare — all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,” the governor said. “If you’re on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you’ll be asked to leave.” In Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, officials issued voluntary evacuation orders for people along the barrier island beaches and mobile home parks. Mandatory evacuations are likely to follow. With Milton achieving hurricane status, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three simultaneous hurricanes after September, said Colorado State University hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach. There have been four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene. Twelve people perished as storm surge swamped the coast, with the worst damage along the narrow, 20-mile string of barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater. DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration Sunday to 51 of the state’s 67 counties — home to more than 90% of the state’s nearly 23 million residents. The state’s Panhandle, which continues to recover from other recent storms, is expected to be mostly spared. Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week’s worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road, DeSantis said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, coordinated with the governor and briefed President Joe Biden Sunday on how it has staged lifesaving resources. “We are preparing … for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma,” said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and electric vehicle charging stations along evacuation routes, and “identified every possible location that can possibly house someone along those routes,” Guthrie said. People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened its codes in 2004, who don’t depend on constant electricity and who aren’t in evacuation zones, should probably avoid the roads, he said. All classes and school activities in St. Petersburg’s Pinellas County preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached, and officials in Tampa opened all city garages free of charge to residents hoping to protect their cars from floodwaters, including electric vehicles. As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove the tons of debris left behind by Helene, DeSantis said, and he directed that Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene’s aftermath return to the state to prepare for Milton. The Florida Department of Emergency Management is establishing a base camp at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, where the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball, to support the operations to remove debris ahead of Milton’s arrival, the governor said. “All available state assets … are being marshaled to help remove debris,” DeSantis said. “We’re going 24-7.” Air search and rescue teams on Saturday found 39 more storm survivors who were still stranded in western North Carolina, state Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said. So far, almost 6,600 people have been rescued, evacuated or assisted by search-and-rescue teams since the storm hit, the office said. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency’s response to the hurricane’s destruction after Republicans’ false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, created a frenzy of misinformation across devastated communities. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it’s really a shame we’re putting politics ahead of helping people,” Criswell told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, adding that it’s created fear and mistrust among residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground across the southeast. Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton. “We’re working with the state there to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall,” she said. Federal disaster assistance for survivors has surpassed $137 million since Helene struck more than a week ago, one of the largest mobilizations of personnel and resources in recent history, FEMA said Sunday. Some 1,500 active-duty troops, more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and nearly 7,000 federal workers have been deployed, shipping more than 14.9 million meals, 13.9 million liters of water, 157 generators and 505,000 tarps, along with approving more than $30 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 27,000 households, according to FEMA, the White House and the Department of Defense. More than 800 people unable to return home are staying in lodging provided through FEMA, and 22 shelters are still housing nearly 1,000 people as mobile feeding operations continue to help survivors. The response to Helene won’t let up during Milton and its aftermath, because FEMA has the capacity to address multiple disasters simultaneously, the agency said. “My administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding,” Biden said. “We will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders — regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.” The hurricane center said Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system’s progress. Heavy rainfall was expected Sunday ahead of the storm itself and will likely then combine with Milton’s rainfall to flood waterways and streets in Florida, where forecasters said up to a foot of rain could fall in places through Wednesday night. Meanwhile in the open Atlantic, Hurricane Kirk diminished to a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday, with top winds of 105 mph, sending large swells and “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” to Bermuda and northward along the U.S. and Canadian coasts, the center said. Hurricane Leslie was also moving over the Atlantic Ocean, well away from land, with top winds of 85 mph.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, SR 350 in Greene County and SR 133 in Johnson County are open to traffic one week after Hurricane Helene swept through East Tennessee destroying five bridges and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure. Following the storm, SR 350, known locally as Jones Bridge Road, was piled 30 feet high with debris. Chunks of the road were washed away, exposing bare dirt and bent utility poles, according to TDOT’s release. “In just 120 hours, 75 TDOT employees hauled dozens of truckloads of debris from Jones Bridge Road and repaired craters of asphalt displaced by the storm. Their commitment to reconnecting communities is unmatched as they continue to make progress day after day,” said Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. RECOVERY HIGHLIGHTS: 49 sections of state routes originally closed, 30 of those have reopened. TDOT crews have inspected all state-owned bridges over water. Crews have assessed 35 of the 90 locally owned bridges requiring assessment. More than 400 dedicated TDOT team members are tirelessly working to repair and reconnect communities as quickly and safely as possible.

A man involved in a fatal crash in Louisville, Ky has been identified in a report from WAVE. The station reported that the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified 44-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim, and that he died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns last Saturday shortly before 5:30 p.m. His cause of death was ruled an accident. Louisville Metro police officers were called to the scene and said the driver lost control of the semi and hit the concrete median, which caused the tractor and trailer to catch fire. A semi had also crashed near Kennedy Bride earlier in the morning. Both of these crashes caused I-65 South to close for hours.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down this week when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977. Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday near ports all along the East and Gulf coasts. A shutdown lasting more than a few weeks would have had the potential to raise prices and create shortages of goods throughout the country as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches. But the union representing the striking U.S. dockworkers, the International Longshoremen’s Association, reached a deal Thursday to suspend the strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union’s members will resume working immediately at least until January. What are the issues in the dockworkers strike? The union is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships. The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired Tuesday. The union’s opening demand was a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with Daggett saying that it would make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime. On Monday, before workers hit the picket lines, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options. Which ports were affected? While any port can handle any type of goods, some ports are specialized to handle goods for a particular industry. The ports affected by the shutdown included Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia, the top two busiest auto ports; Philadelphia, which gives priority to fruits and vegetables; and New Orleans, which handles coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, and wood products from Asia and South America. Other major ports affected include Boston; New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Houston. Can the government intervene? If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could have, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, sought a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. That would have suspended the strike. But during an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene. “Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said. How are states responding? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would order the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard to the state’s ports to “maintain order” and possibly help resume operations as residents and business recover from Hurricane Helene. “This has the potential of really disrupting the hurricane recovery and of hurting the people who were victims of the storm,” DeSantis said at a Thursday news conference. He spoke before news emerged that the union had agreed to suspend its walkout. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul put out a joint statement saying they were monitoring the situation for incidences of price gouging. How will this affect consumers? With the strike being suspended, consumers probably wouldn’t notice any significant shortages or price hikes. Had the stoppage persisted for more than a month, it would have been a different story, depending on what you’re shopping for. Most holiday retail goods have already arrived from overseas, so there is a buffer. Prices on everything from fruits and vegetables to cars may have headed higher, at least temporarily, if it had dragged on. That would have been unwelcome news after snarled supply chains sent prices jetting higher at the end of the pandemic, and could have been potentially damaging politically with Election Day about a month away. The ‘sell-by’ clock never stops ticking Container loads of highly perishable bananas had been stuck at some ports. Before the suspension was announced, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted that limiting the duration of the strike was the key to preventing shortages and higher prices. Businesses had made contingency plans Since the major supply chain disruption in 2021, retailers have adapted to supply chain disrupters being the new norm, said Rick Haase, owner of a mini-chain of Patina gift shops in and around the Twin Cities in Minnesota. “The best approach for Patina has been to secure orders early and have the goods in our warehouse and back rooms to ensure we are in stock on key goods,” Haase said. Still, housing those goods for longer can have an inflationary impact at the register because retailers will need to recoup those storage costs, or absorb them. Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, a Boca Raton, Florida, the maker of Care Bears and Lincoln Logs, has already shifted all of the toy company’s container shipments away from the East Coast to West Coast ports, primarily Los Angeles and Long Beach. That too, comes with a cost. The maneuver added anywhere from 10% to 20% in extra costs that his company will have to absorb because Basic Fun’s prices for the next 10 months are locked in with retailers. But Foreman would consider raising prices during the second half of 2025 if the strike is prolonged. Daniel Vasquez, who owns the import, export specialty company Dynamic Auto Movers in Miami, increased inventory, specifically for vehicles that take longer to ship, in anticipation of a strike. He too stopped relying on one port or shipping partner and has expanded his relationship with smaller ports and shipping companies that can bypass congested areas. AP Writers Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Stephen Groves in Dover, Delaware; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Tom Krisher in Detroit; and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.

PENSACOLA, N.C. (AP) — Rescue crews and volunteers facing obstacles at every turn in North Carolina’s remote mountains paddled canoes across swollen rivers and steered horses past mudslides in the rush to reach those stranded or missing by Hurricane Helene’s rampage that killed more than 200 throughout the Southeast. Now a week since the storm first roared onto Florida’s Gulf Coast, the search continued for people who have yet to be heard from in places where phone service and electricity were knocked out. Pleas for help came from people running low on medicine or in need of fuel for their generators. How many people are missing or unaccounted for isn’t clear. The death toll soared to 215 people on Thursday as more victims were found, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. Roughly half the victims were in North Carolina, while dozens more were killed in South Carolina and Georgia. Each road presents a new challenge for rescuers Along the Cane River in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains, rescuers from the Pensacola Volunteer Fire Department were cutting their way through trees at the top of a valley nearly a week after a wall of chocolate-milk colored water swept through for hours. Pensacola, which sits a few miles from Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River, lost an untold number of people, said Mark Harrison, chief medical officer for the department. “We’re starting to do recovery,” he said Thursday. “We’ve got the most critical people out.” Harrison was helping dispatch volunteers driving all-terrain vehicles on supply runs to people still on ridgetops. Many don’t want to leave their houses, while others lost their vehicles and need help getting to town. Bradley Billheimer, who hiked down to the fire station to access the internet, said he just talked to his mom for the first time since the storm. He feared his house will be without power for months. “I think we’re going to walk out in a couple of days,” he said. In another county that sits alongside the Tennessee state line, crews were just finishing clearing main routes and reaching side roads that wind through switchbacks and cross small bridges that can be tricky to navigate even in the best weather. Each road presented a new challenge. “Everything is fine and then they come around a bend and the road is gone and it’s one big gully or the bridge is gone.” said Charlie Wallin, a commissioner in Watauga County. “We can only get so far.” Most people the crews come across turn out to be fine and just in need of water, but every day there are new requests to check on someone who hasn’t been heard from yet, Wallin said. When the search will end is hard to tell, he said. “You hope you’re getting closer, but it’s still hard to know,” he said. A week into the search and rescue operations in Buncombe County, which includes the hard-hit tourist city of Asheville and where more than 72 have been killed, the county doesn’t have an official tally of people who are unaccounted for or missing. The county sheriff said his office believes more than 200 people are missing, although other officials said the number is constantly changing when crews make contact with people who hadn’t been accounted for or receive new names of people who may be missing. “We’re continuing to find people. We know we have pockets of people who are isolated due to landslides and bridges out,” said Avril Pinder, the county manager. “So they are disconnected but not missing.” Frank Johnson, who owns a company that makes robotic cutting machines in Mars Hill, North Carolina, said he feels like he is running a relief mission on his own. He’s using his own workers, volunteers and supplies and know-how from his company to get water, food, fuel and other supplies to his neighbors. “I’ve been hearing there are entire neighborhoods gone. I’m still not sure people have the whole grasp of what we’re dealing with,” Johnson said. Electricity is being slowly restored, as the number of homes and businesses without power dipped below 1 million for the first time since last weekend, according to poweroutage.us. Most of the outages are in the Carolinas and Georgia, where Helene struck after coming into Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. Heartbreaking deaths across the Southeast John Savage said his grandparents were found hugging one another in their Beech Island, South Carolina, home where one of the biggest trees on the property crashed on top of their bedroom and killed them. The family thinks it was God’s plan to take them together, rather than one suffer without the other, he said. “When they pulled them out of there, my grandpa apparently heard the tree snap beforehand and rolled over to try and protect my grandmother,” Savage said. Two firefighters killed when a tree fell on their truck also were among at least 40 people killed across South Carolina. Month-old twin boys, born in mid-August, were the youngest known victims. Khyzier and Khazmir Williams died alongside their 27-year-old mother Kobe Williams when a large tree fell through the roof of their home Monday in Thomson, Georgia. Kobe’s father, Obie Lee Williams, said he’s devastated that he will never have the chance to meet his grandsons in person. He described his daughter as a lovable, social and strong young woman who cared deeply about her family. Other young victims of the storm include a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy from Washington County, Georgia. Biden back in the disaster zone President Joe Biden spoke with survivors and first responders and surveyed damage Thursday in Keaton Beach, Florida, walking past mountains of splintered wood, demolished homes and massive pieces of siding crumpled like paper. Biden met with people who had lost homes; one couple was living out of a trailer near the wreckage of their home, their personal belongings strewn on the ground. Later at a badly damaged pecan farm outside Valdosta, Georgia, he said the victims of Helene had gone through “hell.” “I want you to know I see you … I grieve with you,” Biden said while also thanking emergency workers and saying it was a moment to “put politics aside.” Biden flew over the devastation in North and South Carolina on Wednesday. The administration announced a federal commitment to foot the bill for debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months in North Carolina and Georgia. The money will address the impacts of landslides and flooding and cover costs of first responders, search and rescue teams, shelters, and mass feeding. Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Darlene Superville in Keaton Beach, Florida; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City.

ATLANTA, Ga. – Since Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeast last week, it has been all hands on deck to aid in recovery of some devestated communities. Caring For Others,an Atlanta-based nonprofit is taking that sentiment literally.  The organization whose mission it is to eradicate poverty, has activated its ‘All Hands Mission’ in partnership with Convoy of Care, and WSB, a local ABC affiliate, to provide relief funds and supplies to aid residents who have been affected by Hurricane Helene. The team has been preparing materials since Sept. 26 and intends to head towards Augusta, Ga. and Valdosta, Ga. on Thursday.   Caring For Others Founder and CEO Eslene Richmond-Shockley has been providing relief funds and supplies to those impacted by dozens of natural disasters over the last two decades. The Convoy of Care will deliver an initial truckload of relief supplies to Valdosta, Ga. on Thursday, October 3 where impacted residents may pick up much needed items. The Georgia Motor Trucking Association and law enforcement organizations including the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP), Georgia Coach Lines, Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys, and others, have pledged their networks to recruit volunteers to deliver and distribute donations. For those impacted by Hurricane Helene, Shockley and her team is accepting financial donations, as well as cleanup tools and products. Supplies requested for donation include: tarps, work gloves, flathead shovels, rakes, chainsaws, batteries, flashlights, and more. To make a donation of supplies, please deliver to Caring For Others headquarters at 3537 Browns Mill Rd SE #2, Atlanta, GA 30354.     “Caring For Others’ ‘All Hands Missions’ are activated the moment disaster strikes,” said Richmond-Shockley. “We cannot let people already suffering from poverty, who are truly desperate to receive our assistance, face further challenges. We send our prayers to those impacted and aim to provide aid that can relieve residents.” “For more than a decade, the Convoy of Care team has activated for communities in need,” said Clarence Cox last week. He is the former President of NOBLE, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. To make a financial contribution to the mission please visit caring4others.org/hurricane-helene/.

Hurricane Helene is still reeking havoc in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. While the severe weather threat is over, the devastation left in its wake could take years to overcome. North Carolina Search and rescue efforts continue in Western North Carolina amidst simultaneous coordinated efforts to restore critical infrastructure and bring much needed food, water and other necessities to communities impacted by Hurricane Helene according to a press release from the Governor Roy Cooper’s office. “The response to this crisis so far has been a massive effort of coordination and logistics,” said Cooper. “As emergency responders continue search and rescue operations in Western North Carolina, local, state, federal, private and non-profit partners continue to work in concert to provide food, water, shelter and other basic necessities for people in need. Simultaneously, thousands of private sector and government employees are working 24/7 to restore critical infrastructure including power, water, wastewater treatment, cellular phone service and internet connectivity.” Travel remains dangerous, with approximately 400 roads remain closed. NCDOT is asking people to refrain from unnecessary travel to or in Western North Carolina. The focus is on restoring primary roads and access to communities that have been isolated by damage. First responders also want to keep the roads as clear as possible to help ensure they may carry out all response missions. NCDOT has dispatched the following resources to assist with the recovery process: 1,500+ employees. 1,500+ trucks, graders & backhoes/loaders. 1,000+ chainsaws. 8,000+ barricades & signs. Efforts are underway to provide food, water and basic necessities to residents in affected communities, utilizing both ground resources and air drops from the NC National Guard, according to Cooper. FEMA has delivered 18 trailers of food and water this morning and expects to have both a trailer of food and a trailer of water each delivered to 34 counties by the end of today. More than 20,000 people have been registered for assistance. Buncombe County – Biltmore Baptist Church, 35 Clayton Road, Arden, N.C. 28704 McDowell County – Grace Community Church, 5182 Highway 70 West, Marion, N.C. 28752 Watauga County – First Baptist Church, 375 West King Street, Boone, N.C. 28607 Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Western North Carolina. Teams, including 16 from other states with a total of 57 teams as far west as Colorado and as far north as New Hampshire, plus 18 federal teams, have rescued more than 440 people and evacuated an additional nearly 4,700. More than 400 people have been rescued by the NC National Guard. More than 110 pets have also been rescued.Forty-two storm-related deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina by Office of Chief Medical Examiner. We do expect that these numbers will continue to rise over the coming days. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will continue to confirm numbers twice daily. If there is an emergency or believe that someone is in danger, please call 911. To report that you have been unable to reach a person in Western North Carolina, please call 211. To report a missing person or request non-emergency support, please call NC 211 or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state. If you are seeking a representative from the North Carolina Joint Information Center, please email [email protected] or call 919-825-2599. If you would like general information, access to resources, or answers to frequently asked questions, please visit ncdps.gov/helene. Tennessee On Tuesday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee traveled to East Tennessee to survey storm damage on the ground and meet with local officials and victims following severe weather and flooding from Hurricane Helene. Accompanied by Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director Patrick Sheehan, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator Bill Hagerty, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger and state officials, the Governor viewed damage and visited impacted communities. “Maria and I are deeply saddened by the loss of life and severe flood damage in East Tennessee,” Lee said. “We continue to pray alongside Tennesseans as we endure this heartbreaking tragedy. I thank state and local emergency officials, law enforcement, first responders and road crews for quickly responding to assist impacted communities and prevent further tragedy, and Tennessee is doing everything we can to support local recovery efforts.” Many roads and bridges in Upper East Tennessee have been compromised due to recent severe weather, according to TDOT. All roads in Upper East should be considered potentially hazardous, and motorists should avoid traveling in these areas unless seeking higher ground. Motorists should adhere to all road closure signage and barricades, and should never attempt to drive through standing water. The counties with the most significant damage are Washington, Carter, Unicoi, Johnson, Greene, and Cocke, but this has a major impact across East Tennessee. Long-term closures will be in place across the region as many routes will require significant repairs and for others, a total rebuild. Destroyed Bridges include: Washington SR-81 Nolichucky River Bridge Washington SR-353 Nolichucky River Bridge Greene SR-107 Nolichucky River Bridge Unicoi I-26 Bridge @MM 39.6 Eastbound Unicoi I-26 Bridge @MM 39.6 Westbound Of the 13 state bridges originally closed, 7 of those have reopened. In addition, TDOT Crews have assessed 47 routes and have repaired and reopened 25 routes. Thursday, crews will prioritize the inspections for locally-owned bridges, 102 in total. Twelve of those have either been washed out or are currently closed, 90 still need assessment. Close to 400 TDOT team members from all four regions mobilized to report to the hardest-hit areas including TDOT employees specializing in Geotech, survey, bridge inspection, design, project development right of way, and maintenance personnel in the field. They are prioritizing connectivity and infrastructure repairs necessary to connect people to their greatest needs such as hospitals, food, shelter, and water. To bolster efforts and restore our transportation system as safely and quickly as possible, TDOT has already executed four construction contracts and four debris removal contracts to supplement our crews. These additional assets are already on the ground working. More will be awarded in the upcoming weeks. Additionally, two alternative delivery advertisements are underway, which allows us to move more quickly in getting infrastructure back online for these communities that so desperately need it. TDOT crews are committed to rebuilding East Tennessee. Many are from the area, and some have even lost their home and possessions, but continue to show up to work. For the most up-to-date closures, please check SmartWay or call 511 for statewide travel information. TDOT will continue to post updates on all its social media platforms. Follow @myTDOT on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Georgia According to GDOT, almost state routes were impassable due to debris or power lines in the road or flooding and more than 100 damaged traffic signal heads. Lowndes County and those east of Interstate 75, including Cook, Berrien, Atkinson and Coffee, were heavily damaged. The GDOT district covers 31 counties and borders Florida. Recovery efforts started immediately and have been aided by Georgia DOT employees from other areas of the state and contractors. The majority of signals are now up and running, some on generators until power is restored. Timber poles will be installed at four intersections to make them operational until they can be rebuilt with mast arms, Chambers said. “We’re in pretty good shape,” said Scott Chambers, GDOT Southwest District Engineer. Recovery efforts started immediately and have been aided by Georgia DOT employees from other areas of the state and contractors. The majority of signals are now up and running, some on generators until power is restored. Timber poles will be installed at four intersections to make them operational until they can be rebuilt with mast arms, Chambers said. Georgia law says an intersection with non-functioning traffic signals should be treated as a four-way stop. GDOT installed temporary stop signs on construction barrels at some intersections where signals are gone or not working, like busy State Route (SR) 32 and SR 206 in Douglas. However, some drivers continue to drive through without stopping. GDOT crews continued pushing debris off state routes Tuesday, but there are seven locations they can’t touch because power lines are in the trees. The roads are passable, but drivers should remain alert for obstructions and be prepared to slow down or stop. With the progress made in clearing, a contractor plans to start hauling debris from state routes Wednesday. The trailers used by the contractor are much larger than Georgia DOT dump trucks. Please use caution when approaching the trucks and avoid crowding them. Residents who have questions about debris removal on city streets or county roads should contact their local Emergency Management Agency.