Speaking nearly 12 hours after Hurricane Milton's landfall, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that although the storm left significant damage, the state was spared from the worst-case scenario officials feared.
The hurricane weakened on Wednesday from a Category 5 down to a Category 3, which meteorologists had forecast. Although forecasters accurately predicted wind shear would cause Milton to weaken, there were concerns that wind shear would not be enough to take away Milton's fury.
Although the damage was extensive, it was not catastrophic.
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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."
DeSantis also briefed President Joe Biden on Hurricane Milton's impacts to 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.
