US President Joe Biden said on October 11 during a meeting on the response to Hurricane Milton that the storm's damages likely stretched to the region of $50 billion, Report informs referring to the DW.
This figure was in a similar range to insurers' first estimates after the hurricane crossed the state, inflicting severe damage but on a slightly smaller scale than feared as it approached.
More than 2 million households and businesses were still without power on Friday, and some areas in the storm's path remained flooded.
"There's places where water is continuing to rise," Florida governor Ron DeSantis said.
Local and federal rescue teams were starting cleanup operations in earnest on Friday, as were many residents in areas where this was already possible — clearing up debris, downed trees, or even sand blown onto houses nearer the beaches in the "Sunshine State."
In total, 16 people have died since Milton crossed the state from west to east, most of them in tornadoes that sprung up around the hurricane. State officials urged locals not to take unnecessary risks, for instance by going to survey the damage or flooding themselves.