Florida starts recovery after havoc of Hurricane Milton

Florida residents slogged through flooded streets, gathered up scattered debris and assessed damage to their homes yesterday after Hurricane Milton smashed through coastal communities and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.

At least 10 people were dead and rescuers were still saving people from swollen rivers, but many expressed relief that Milton wasn't worse. The hurricane spared densely populated Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialised.

Governor Ron DeSantis warned people to not let down their guard, however, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water that could hide dangerous objects.

"We're now in the period where you have fatalities that are preventable," Mr DeSantis said. "You have to make the proper decisions and know that there are hazards out there."

As homeowners assessed damage to their property, about 2.2 million customers in Florida remained without power yesterday, according to poweroutage.us. The 260,000 people in St Petersburg were told to boil water before drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth, until at least Monday.

The state's vital tourism industry started to return to normal, meanwhile, with several theme parks reopening. The state's busiest airport was also scheduled to fully reopen yesterday.

Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, Milton flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays' baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.