Milton spares Florida 'worst-case scenario,' flood threat ongoing: DeSantis says
Hurricane Milton "thankfully" spared Florida "the worst-case scenario," Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning.
About 80,000 people evacuated to shelters overnight as the storm battered the state, DeSantis said.
Rain totals reached a whopping 18 inches in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, DeSantis said. And the threat isn’t over; flooding is expected to continue the next few days, the governor warned.
In Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa, 100 people were evacuated from an assisted living facility and 21 people were rescued from an apartment building, officials said.
"The storm surge wasn’t as severe as initially feared, though some areas, particularly Sarasota, did experience substantial impacts," a state representative said. "We’re focused on getting power back up, clearing roads and ensuring gas stations reopen to help people recover."
Forty-eight people have been rescued by Florida National Guard search and rescue teams so far, and responders remain "laser-focused" on rescue efforts on Thursday, DeSantis said.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
