VENICE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� No sooner had residents of the Bahia Vista Gulf condominium complex dug out and from Hurricane Helene than they were faced with the same daunting cleanup from new damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton.
The beachfront units had been gutted, treated and dried out after Hurricane Helene and mounds of sand that had blown in from the beach had been removed. Then, less than two weeks later, barreled in and undid all the progress.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e got to start the whole process over, cleaning, sanitizing, bringing in drying equipment, getting them all dried and prepped for renovations,鈥� lamented Bill O鈥機onnell, a board member at the complex in Venice, about an hour's drive south of Tampa. The second hurricane 鈥渂rought all the sand back on our property.鈥�
Some longtime Floridians have grown accustomed to the that can shatter and upend lives in a state known mostly for its balmy weather, sunshine and beaches.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the price you pay to live in paradise,鈥� O鈥機onnell said. 鈥淚f you want to live here with this view, beautiful sunsets, be able to go out on your boat, enjoy what Florida has to offer, you have to be willing to accept that these storms are going to come."
The devastation of the back-to-back storms is still being tallied as a swath of the state from the unusual dual strike of storms in such close proximity. Many residents, some returning home after evacuating, spent much of Saturday searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state.
President Joe Biden planned to visit the Gulf Coast on Sunday.
Hurricane Milton killed at least 10 people after it made landfall as a Category 3 storm, tearing across central Florida, flooding barrier islands and . Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations. Overall, more than a thousand people were rescued in the wake of the storm.
Disaster hits twice
In the fishing village of Cortez, a community of 4,100 southwest of Tampa, Catherine Praught said she and her husband, Mark, felt 鈥減ure panic鈥� when Hurricane Milton menaced Cortez so soon after Helene, forcing them to pause their cleanup and evacuate. Fortunately, their home wasn鈥檛 damaged by the second storm.
鈥淭his is where we live,鈥� Catherine Praught said of their low-lying home of 36 years that had to be emptied, gutted and scrubbed after Helene. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just hopeful we get the insurance company to help us.鈥�
Residents of the community's modest, single-story wood and stucco-fronted cottages were working Saturday to remove broken furniture and tree limbs, stacking the debris in the street much like they did after Hurricane Helene.
A similar scene could be found in Steinhatchee, west of Gainsville, where enormous piles of debris lined the streets.
Melissa Harden lives less than a block from a restaurant and neighborhood bar that were reduced to rubble. Her house is on 16-foot (4.9-meter) pilings, but 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water still flooded in. When Milton was forecast, she feared Steinhatachee would be hit by the third hurricane in 14 months.
鈥淧ersonally, I thought, if it comes, we鈥檙e already evacuated and our home is pretty messed up,鈥� she said as friends and relatives helped with the cleanup, removing bathroom fixtures and pulling out damaged boards. 鈥淥f course we didn鈥檛 want it! No more storms!鈥�
Moody鈥檚 Analytics on Saturday estimated economic costs from the storm will range from $50 billion to $85 billion, including upwards of $70 billion in property damage and an economic output loss of up to $15 billion.
Widespread fuel shortage
In St. Petersburg, scores of people lined up at a station that had no gas Saturday, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them was Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter Magnolia, who arrived at 7 a.m. and were still waiting four hours later.
鈥淭hey told me they have gas coming but they don鈥檛 know when it鈥檚 going to be here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have no choice. I have to sit here all day with her until I get gas.鈥�
Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state opened three fuel distribution sites and planned to open several more. Residents can get 10 gallons (37.8 liters) each, free of charge, he said.
鈥淥bviously as power gets restored ... and the Port of Tampa is open, you鈥檙e going to see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,鈥� DeSantis said.
Officials were replenishing area gas stations with the state鈥檚 fuel stockpiles and provided generators to stations that remained without power.
Rising rivers among the remaining safety threats
As the recovery continues, DeSantis has warned people to be cautious, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water. Some 1.1 million Floridians were still without power Saturday night, according to .
National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will 鈥渒eep rising" for the next several days and result in flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward. Those areas were hit by the most rain, which comes on top of a wet summer that included several earlier hurricanes.
鈥淵ou can't do much but wait,鈥� Close said of the rivers cresting. 鈥淎t least there is no rain in the forecast, no substantial rain. So we have a break here from all our wet weather.鈥�
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Farrington reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press journalists contributing from Florida included Chris O'Meara in Lithia, Curt Anderson in Tampa, Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Terry Spencer outside of Fort Lauderdale and Stephany Matat in Fort Pierce. Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed.
Russ Bynum, Brendan Farrington And Ty Oneil, The Associated Press
