Due to tornadoes and Hurricane Milton, the number of deaths in Florida rises to 16

The death toll from Hurricane Milton increased this Friday to at least 16Florida authorities reported, as residents in the state begin the process of rebuilding their lives and homes.

>>> You may be interested: After Hurricane Milton, strange lights were seen in the Florida sky: what is it about?

Nearly 2.5 million homes and businesses remain without power, and some storm-ravaged areas between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean remain flooded.

Milton made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm, with winds lashing communities still recovering from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, which killed 237 people across the southeastern United States, including Florida.

The Milton-related tornadoes appear to have caused more deaths than the flooding.

On the other hand, a study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network released this Friday concluded that the rains that accompanied Milton were between 20% and 30% more intense due to climate change, and the winds were 10% more intense.

The terror that Florida citizens experienced due to Hurricane Milton

“It was pretty scary,” said Susan Stepp, a 70-year-old resident of Fort Pierce, a city on Florida’s Atlantic coast where four people were killed in a tornado spawned by Milton.

“They found some people dead outside, in a tree,” he told the AFP news agency. “I wish they had evacuated.”

Stepp’s husband, Bill, said a tornado threw their 22-ton motor home “to the other side of the yard.”

“It’s scary and heartbreaking at the same time to see so much damage and all the things you really love disappear, but they’re just things and we’re still here”said the 72-year-old man.

At least six people died in St. Lucie County, four in Volusia County, two in Pinellas County and one each in Hillsborough, Polk, Orange and Citrus counties, local officials said.

The storm downed power lines, destroyed the roof of the Tampa baseball stadium and flooded homesbut Florida was able to avoid the level of catastrophic devastation that authorities feared.

“The storm was significant, but fortunately this was not the worst possible scenario”Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference.

The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings across the state on Wednesday, the most issued for a single calendar day for the state in records dating back to 1986, wrote hurricane expert Michael Lowry.

“It’s not easy to think you have everything and suddenly you have nothing,” said Lidier Rodríguez, who was forced to leave his flooded apartment near Tampa Bay.

Search operations continued Friday, and the Coast Guard reported the spectacular rescue of a boat captain who weathered the storm clinging to a cooler in the Gulf of Mexico.

>>> Read also: Pasión de Gavilanes actress shows how she experienced the passage of Hurricane Milton in Florida