Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Hurricane Milton did not produce the worst-case scenario despite causing extensive damage across the state.
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"First responders have been working all through the night to help people who were in distress," DeSantis said. "And what we can say is the storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario. The storm did weaken before landfall and the storm surge as initially reported has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene."
Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night near Sarasota. It left behind flooded roads and damaged buildings, including Tropicana Field, which had its roof torn off in the high winds.
The storm moved east before exiting the state Friday morning.
DeSantis said he briefed President Joe Biden on Hurricane Milton's impacts on Florida.
"The president reiterated that he will provide any support the state needs to speed response and recovery," the White House said on Thursday. "FEMA Administrator Criswell participated in the call and will be surveying the impacts with the governor this morning."
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President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received a briefing at 11 a.m. ET. from Criswell, who met with DeSantis this morning.
The briefing included a discussion over Hurricane Helene recovery efforts nearly two weeks after that storm devastated the southeast, leaving over 200 people dead. Western North Carolina has struggled to return to normal as the storm left massive flooding damage in its wake.
Biden also held a conference call with local leaders in Florida.
