While Milton did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, one of many states hit by“It opens your eyes to what Mother Nature can do,” said Chase Pierce, 25 of west St. Petersburg, who, with his girlfriend, saw transformers blow up, sparks fly and a power line fall in the back yard.
But Republican Donald Trump, who trails Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polling ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, attacked his opponents for their handling of storm recovery efforts. “Sadly, we have seen over the last two weeks, since Hurricane Helene, and now in the immediate aftermath of Milton, where people are playing political games,” she said, without naming Trump.
There were at least 16 hurricane-related deaths, CBS News cited the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as saying.